


Transformers: Mobian Chronicles (Arc 2: Shockwave’s Rise)

by Canso99



Series: Transformers: Mobian Chronicles [2]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types, Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:14:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24075016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canso99/pseuds/Canso99
Summary: Thanks to Eggman's blundering, Optimus, Sonic, and their friends are locked in combat with the Decepticon Chief Scientist, the presumed-dead Shockwave! Will the Autobots and their allies prove their might or will Shockwave use them as lab-rats?
Series: Transformers: Mobian Chronicles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1734937
Kudos: 1
Collections: Sonic Fanfics





	1. Chapter 1

“Doctor,” droned a mechanized voice, “our scouts have reported that they’ve found something in a dig for the objects the Autobots call t-cogs.”

“And?” rumbled Eggman.

“It appears to be a complete Transformer,” replied Scan-Ops. “It is colored purple and has a single red eye. On top of that, it is built like an organic female.”

“Bring it here,” ordered Eggman. The robots acknowledged and obeyed. It took a while to dig the Transformer out and transport it back to Robotropolis. Once they got it back, the robots put the Transformer in a tank and filled it with pinkish, transparent liquid. “This super fuel will be able to jump start that robot,” muttered Eggman. “Initiate the menta-probing process.”

“All connections to core processor made,” reported Scan-Ops. “Initiating scan now.” The liquid started bubbling as lights flashed in the tank. “Revitalization process at 5%, 10%, 15% and remaining steady. Scan stable.” Images, words, and diagrams started flashing on the main screen. “Project: Thrasher?” asked Scan-Ops.

“What does a shock wave have to do with anything?” quizzed Eggman.

“Who’s this Sentinel Prime?” asked another robot.

“Doctor!” yelped a robot in a panicked tone. “We are being probed! We have tried multiple attempts but cannot block the intruder out!”

“What?!” yelled Eggman. The main screen showed the data that was being scanned. Plans, images of Sonic and his friends, power readings, schematics, all of it seemed to be copied to somewhere. After a few minutes, it looked like a camera was watching them with a pinkish light. They saw some sentences being formed.

“What?” read the words. “What happened? Where am I? How long have I been in stasis?” Everyone turned to see that the Transformer’s single red eye was glowing. “4016?” quizzed the Transformer’s internal dialog. “2000 Earth Years? Why was I abandoned? Even Jhiaxus should have collected the dead. It’s only logical.” More data, this time alien in origin, flooded the screen. “So the Autobots won,” guessed the internal dialogue of the Transformer. “That collection of Energon was crucial to the Space Bridge. In any case, this Energon healing tank has restored me. Draining tank and exiting.” The tank drained and let all the pink liquid out. Once completely empty, it opened to let the Transformer out. Part of the mask that the red eye was on retracted to reveal a mouth underneath.

“Greetings, my lavender lady of alien alloy!” greeted Eggman, going off of appearances. “I am Dr. Julian Ivo Robotnik, Dr. Eggman, if you will. I am the most brilliant scientist on Mobius, er, Earth.”

“So this planet has been renamed,” remarked the Transformer in an intimidating female bass voice.

“Er, yes,” gulped Eggman. “I brought you here to see if we can come to some sort of arrangement. You see, I, too, have had some Autobot trouble. I thought that a simple reprogramming would bring any robot to my control, but the Autobots have proved more resilient than I originally hypothesized. If you have met these Autobots before, then I’m sure a beautiful and powerful lady like yourself can give me the edge I need to conquer Mobius! If you help me, you may rule by my side, my sweet.” The Transformer just stared.

“I find your attempts at flirting and your claims of being a scientist…laughable,” she finally said.

“Pardon?” asked Eggman in a dangerous tone. The Femme wasn’t intimidated in the slightest.

“I’ve seen your plans against this ‘Sonic’ creature. I’ve seen your plans of conquest,” continued the Transformer, “I’ve seen everything while you were downloading from my processor. Your theories are the worst kind of popular tripe, your methods are sloppy, and your conclusions are highly questionable. You are a poor scientist, Doctor. I see no logic in forming an alliance with you.” She stepped forward. “If you have met the Autobots, my enemies, then you have seen this particular bit to our evolutionary process. SHOCKWAVE, TRANSFORM!” The head flipped down into the chest. The tank barrel on the back went on top of the torso. The arms folded into the back. The legs split in half and the entire ensemble of steel went down the split on the legs to make a four wheeled transport for the tank that the femme, Shockwave, became. Her holo-form appeared as a 6’4 human woman with a white lab coat, a purple shirt, black pants, short, black hair with some of it covering half of her pale, spectacled face. The left eye, the one eye that was shown, was red. “If you value your life,” warned Shockwave, “and, logically, you do, stand aside and let me leave your base of operations unimpeded.”

“Not happening!” snarled Eggman. “Robots, ATTACK!” Eggman’s forces fired on Shockwave, but the shots didn’t even stir a hair on her head.

“The Omni-oscillation frequency field,” explained Shockwave. “Adapts to any frequency of laser shot the instant the generator detects the bolt coming out of the gun. In robot mode, it covers only a small area. I’ve set it around an obvious flaw. I presume you thought my monocular vision would hinder me. In vehicle mode, the effectiveness is boosted tenfold. Now, stand aside.” Shockwave’s main gun fired on the wall behind Eggman and made a gaping hole to the outside of Robotropolis. The alarm had started blasting as troops surrounded Shockwave. She didn’t even flinch. Her gun kept cutting a hole into the robots and whatever of Eggman’s forces escaped was found under foot, er, under wheel, in Shockwave’s case. She escaped, leaving smashed Eggman robots all over the ruined robot city.

“This robot is a menace!” wailed Scan-Ops. “There’s no way we can contain her!”

“Perhaps I’ve approached it from the wrong angle,” mused Eggman out loud.

“Sir?” asked Scan-Ops.

“Have all robots pour over the data we’ve gotten from Shockwave,” he ordered. “She’s a logical lady, perhaps there is something else in that data we can offer her that would appeal to her logic centers.”

“Understood,” replied Scan-Ops. All science and technical robots set to work decoding the data and translating it into English. Eggman grinned.

* * *

Shockwave managed to enter the woods undetected. She transformed and tossed a disc onto the ground. A purple holographic projection of a young Rosalind Franklin appeared. “Sigma,” inquired Shockwave, “is this still Earth?”

“Information: spatial coordinates are accurate,” reported the hologram, “but recent data suggests it is not Earth as we knew it. Reminder: planets have changed over time. Such an example is Femax.”

“It would be a logical explanation to anthropomorphized animals coexisting with the humanoid life forms,” theorized Shockwave. “Is there Energon on this planet?”

“Confirmed,” reported Sigma.

“Satisfactory,” replied Shockwave.

“Information: there is too much Energon for even a full scale planetary occupation force to handle,” interjected Sigma. “Field readings are off the scale. Continued exposure to bipedal form will result in permanent damage.”

“Then I must stay in alternate mode for the duration of my stay,” remarked Shockwave.

“Information: your last location was the offsite laboratory in Washington D.C.,” called Sigma. “That laboratory held a Space Bridge to Cybertron.”

“Correct,” conceded Shockwave, “but it may have decayed over time.”

“Information: parts for a Space Bridge are available on this planet,” reported Sigma. “They should be stable enough to replace old parts that may have decayed beyond repair.”

“Is the homing beacon active?” asked Shockwave.

“Confirmed,” replied Sigma.

“When I return to the remains of my old laboratory,” declared Shockwave, “I will examine the Space Bridge. Compile a list of necessary parts as I examine it.” Shockwave transformed and sped off.


	2. Chapter 2

Optimus was walking around the base with a data pad in his hands. Jazz saw his pacing. “Yo, Prime, what’s up?” he called. Optimus didn’t hear him.

“Autobots, rise to the challenge!” he muttered to himself. He felt a tap on his shoulder. Optimus jumped a few meters and whirled around to see Jazz. “Oh, Jazz!” he gasped, recovering from being startled. “Don’t practice stealth on me, man!”

“Dude, if I recall,” mused Jazz, “‘rise to the challenge’ was Sentinel Prime’s rallying cry. You’re your own Prime.”

“I know,” replied Optimus, “but there has to be a rallying cry I can make my own!” Optimus tapped his cranium, and then had an idea. “Convert and Conquer!” Jazz shook his head. “Yeah, you’re right, it doesn’t make sense. We’re not here to conquer anything.” He paced a few more times, and then stopped. “Rip it up and ride it out!”

“Dude, that sounds wrong!” gagged Jazz.

“Yeah, it did sound gross,” agreed Optimus. “Promise me that you’ll never let me use it!”

“Deal!” promised Jazz. There were a few sessions in which Optimus came up with a lot of rallying cries. All of them were discarded. One of them resulted in Jazz slapping Optimus on the back of the head and muttering “racist”. After he left, Optimus rubbed the back of his head. He then went back to his conundrum.

“What rhymes with orange?” he asked to himself. After a few hours into nighttime, Ironhide had come from the shooting range out back. He heard Optimus mutter “Engines loud and make me proud!”

“Er, Prime?” he asked. “You okay, kiddo?”

“Doin’ great!” a bleary eyed Optimus slurred. “Let’s not be late!”

“But, we don’t have anywhere to be,” remarked Ironhide.

“Nowhere to be sounds good to me…” slurred Optimus.

“Okay,” sighed Ironhide as he picked up the youngest Prime, “how about we take a little break?” He took Optimus to his quarters.

“A little break could…could be a mistake,” mumbled Optimus. “Um, does anything rhyme with orange?” Ironhide opened Prime’s quarters and got him onto the recharge berth. The berth lowered a clear canopy and Ironhide left Optimus sleeping. The bot’s dreams, however, were far from peaceful. He woke up on solid space. “…the Pit?” he asked.

“This is far from that unholy place,” called a voice. Optimus turned around to see a mech with a metal cape, a beard, and a three pronged crown.

“Alpha Trion?” asked Optimus.

“Welcome to the Realm of the Primes, Orion,” greeted Alpha Trion.

“The Realm of the…the Matrix?” quizzed Optimus. “This is the Matrix?”

“That’s right,” confirmed the old mech. “My tool, the Quill, had written something troubling about the future.”

“What did it write?” asked Optimus. Alpha Trion took out a metallic quill and tapped the writing end to the floor. The scene changed. It turned into a war torn area with a red sky, Cybertronian corpses littering the land, and a dark figure looming over it all with his troops. A purple light started glowing in its chest and red eyes blazed into Optimus’ soul. “Who’s that?” he gasped.

“I cannot tell,” replied Alpha Trion. “The Quill only gives me glimpses of the future.” The figure raised an arm mounted cannon as the purple light took shape. It formed a symbol that all Autobots feared. While the symbol for the Autobots looked like a noble face in red, this symbol was an evil face in purple. Optimus’ optics widened in horror.

“You’re not seriously suggesting…” he gulped to Alpha Trion.

“Their campaign may begin again,” said Alpha Trion cryptically. The being fired and the light from the shot woke Optimus up. He panted a few times, and then his expression changed to that of noticing the headache he earned trying to come up with a good rallying cry. He rubbed his head and got out of the recharge berth. He thought Ratchet would have a solution. He headed to the medical bay and knocked on the door.

“It’s open,” grunted Ratchet from inside. Optimus approached and saw Ratchet hunched over a microscope.

“Hey, Doc,” mumbled Optimus, “what have you got for a processor ache?”

“Don’t call me ‘Doc’,” snapped Ratchet. “Let me guess, straining your processor to the breaking point. A nightmare last night.”

“Both,” answered Optimus.

“Some night,” muttered Ratchet as he got the necessary Energon capsules for a processor ache. At that moment, Tails walked in.

“Good morning, Autobots,” he greeted.

“It’s morning,” murmured Optimus, “but the Council’s still out on ‘good’.”

“I guess wishing you a Happy Forge Day will beget a similar response,” remarked Ratchet.

“Huh?” quizzed Optimus.

“Yep, 151 Earth years ago today, you were forged,” confirmed Ratchet.

“Forge Day?” repeated Tails. “You mean it’s Optimus’ birthday?”

“Oh yeah,” recalled Optimus. “I forgot that little detail.”

“How can you forget your own birthday?” asked Tails.

“I haven’t forgotten,” replied Optimus, “I just haven’t adjusted to your planet’s calendar.”

“Rough night?” guessed Tails.

“Yeah, and a rough day yesterday,” answered Optimus. “Oh well, today’s a new day.”

“A new day, and a new adventure,” agreed Tails. “Jazz made something called Energolisis.”

“It’s the Cybertronian equivalent of coffee,” explained Ratchet. Optimus took the capsules with him to the base’s mess hall. He saw Jazz by a coffee machine like device.

“Hey, thanks for the Energolisis,” he called.

“I didn’t say it was for you,” countered Jazz. Optimus blinked and saw Ironhide with a glass cylinder of steaming pinkish blue liquid.

“What?” asked Ironhide.

“You bots ever wonder how you got here?” Optimus was being philosophical, but it went over the team’s heads.

“I came here because you needed to get a court martial off your best friend’s chassis and going to the planet he was on was the quickest way to get information out of him,” answered Ironhide.

“And I came here,” supplied Jazz, “because someone, now known as Eggman, was digging up Cybertronian corpses on this planet. Now I can do it without fearing the council and I manage to see my best friend go off world. You still owe me 60 Shanix on that bet.”

“I feel so loved,” said Optimus sarcastically.

“I’m ribbing you, Big Bot,” chuckled Jazz. “The Energolisis is for every bot. Happy Forge Day, Optimus.”

“Thanks, Jazz,” bid Optimus. “It’s perfect for the processor ache I have right now.”

“Stayed up all night coming up with a rallying cry?” asked Jazz.

“Nope,” interjected Ironhide. “I managed to drag him to his recharge berth.”

“Well, spending all day with rallying cry ideas didn’t help,” remarked Optimus, “but that’s only one of two reasons.”

“What’s the other reason?” asked Ironhide.

“I had a pow wow with Alpha Trion,” explained Optimus.

“So those meditation days Sentinel Prime had,” quizzed Ironhide, “they were him talking to the Ancients?”

“Exactly,” confirmed Optimus. “He showed me a glimpse of the future with the Quill. I was soon taken to a Pit like landscape with Cybertronian bodies strewn about and a massive army with a figure at the front of it. As the lead figure raised its arm to fire its weapon, its optics were glowing red and a purple light on its chest became the Decepticon symbol.”

“And you didn’t get away, why?” asked Tails.

“I tried to,” replied Optimus, “but I was frozen and couldn’t turn. When he fired, that’s when I woke up.”

“What does it mean?” quizzed Ironhide.

“I don’t know,” muttered Optimus, “but if that future had Decepticons in it, we’re in for a Pit of a time.”

“If those Decepticreeps are after us,” growled Ironhide, “then we need to be ready for their armies!”

“Ironhide, that’s ridiculous,” dismissed Optimus. “The Quill only gave Alpha Trion and I a vague notion of what the future may bring. It may be just one Decepticon attempting to bring the old Decepticon Empire back. The future is uncertain.” At that point, the alarm went off in the base. Everyone sped to the main monitor and saw Sonic there with the Scarlet Specter and Cream

“What’s going on?” asked Tails.

“A Cybertronian signal popped up!” replied Ratchet. “It looks like a G.U.N agent caught a picture.” He saw that the picture was a purple thing. “Increase resolution by ten.” directed Ratchet. The image solidified into a purple tank. “Run possible alt-mode matches,” commanded Ratchet.

“One possible match found,” reported the computer. It showed the tank and a certain one eyed robot.

“Impossible!” breathed Ironhide.

“And that femme is?” asked Jazz.

“Shockwave,” whispered Ratchet.

“Shockwave?” asked Bumblebee. “As in, the cruel and vicious Chief Scientist of the Decepticons, who eats Autobot protoforms for breakfast?!”

“If she deemed it logical,” confirmed Ratchet.

“But Ultra Magnus said that Megatronus shot her in the head!” protested Optimus. “How could she be alive?”

“It’s possible that Shockwave was merely blinded and she repaired her optic before going into stasis,” guessed Ratchet.

“But who would be stupid enough to wake her up?” asked Bumblebee.

“It doesn’t matter now,” replied Optimus. “The point is we need to stop her before she wreaks any havoc. Ratchet, what’s she doing?”

“It appears she has a…religious following,” answered Ratchet. He stumbled over “religious following”.

“A bot more obsessed with science than you?” asked Ironhide. He chuckled at the attempted poke to Ratchet’s pride, but it either went over Ratchet’s head or he chose not to dignify it with a response. “But, in all seriousness, why would she need a religious following?”

“Is that an altar for her?” quizzed Cream as she pointed to a construct behind Shockwave.

“No,” replied Jazz, “but she could have fooled those people into thinking that it’s an altar.”

“What is it, then?” asked the Scarlet Specter.

“It looks like the framework for a Space Bridge,” observed Ratchet. All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. Optimus transformed and headed for the door. He opened it and found a gaggle of Mobians dressed in purple robes and purple headbands with a red circle in the middle.

“Er…can I help you?” stammered Optimus.

“May the Lady rain glory on you!” called the leader of the group. “We have traveled long to build a worthy altar for the Lady and we do request items that would please the Lady’s altar. She requires 20 carbon nano-tube batteries, a trinity engine, and 5 wind powered electro-stalls.” Optimus blinked. He turned inside to see Ratchet silently saying that giving them those parts is a bad idea.

“Sorry, my friends,” replied Optimus. “I’m afraid I have none of those items. I wish I could help you, but I can’t.”

“That is most troubling,” sighed the group leader. “The Lady will be most displeased. Thank you anyway, kind sir. May the Lady still rain glory on you.” The group left while Optimus shut the door. He glanced at Ratchet.

“Those things are part of the stabilization relay for the Space Bridge portal,” Ratchet explained.

“My Space Bridge knowledge is limited here,” remarked Optimus as he transformed. “Mind explaining?”

“The Space Bridge utilizes wormhole generators to create a hole through space,” elaborated Ratchet, “however, if not stabilized, wormholes become black holes very quickly before the other end is made. The stabilization relay makes it so that the wormhole will not decay as rapidly and thus we can control when it closes. This whole situation gives me a chance to test out the Ground Bridge.”

“Let me go there,” volunteered Bumblebee. “We need to see what Shockwave is planning and how we can use the terrain to our advantage, and I’m the best scout in the Elite Guard.”

“You’re also the only scout we have,” argued Ironhide. “We can’t risk having you die if you’re discovered!”

“I need the experience!” protested Bumblebee. “Come on, Prime, let me go!” Optimus had to make a decision. If he let Bumblebee go, he runs the risk of being discovered by the most powerful Decepticon on Cybertron. On top of that, the Ground Bridge vortex would close on him and kill him. On the other servo, he couldn’t exactly let anyone else, even himself, go, and his organic friends were out of the question.

“All right, fine Bee,” he sighed, “but go quickly through the Ground Bridge and just observe. Call us the instant you get there. Don’t fight until we get there. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir!” confirmed Bumblebee.

“All right,” replied Optimus. “Ratchet, do you have the coordinates?”

“Yes, Sir!” answered Ratchet.

“Then open the Ground Bridge,” ordered Optimus. Ratchet put the coordinates in and pulled a lever. The machinery started humming and generated a swirling green vortex. Bumblebee quickly transformed and sped through the portal. After he went through, the portal collapsed.

“Okay guys,” whispered Bumblebee over the comms. “Good news, the Ground Bridge works. Bad news, I’m a bit too close. Still not close enough for Shockwave to detect me, but enough to make me worry. I’m going to let you hear what she’s saying.”

“Good work, Bee,” answered Optimus. What Shockwave said surprised those that knew her.

“And so,” she preached, “despite the setback from earlier, the altar you are making is going very nicely. Soon, I shall ascend to the heavens and bring more of my kind to bring eternal glory to you. Peace be upon you, my children!” The sermon ended and the crowd left.

“That was terrible!” muttered Optimus. “It sounded like she was just reading her lines! She needed to give it some oomph!”

“Ratchet, I need a Ground Bridge,” gulped Bumblebee. Shockwave stiffened and turned her head. “I think she heard me!” yelped Bumblebee. Shockwave turned completely and walked towards Bumblebee’s speaking. “She heard me! Ratchet, I need a Ground Bridge now!” The portal opened. Bumblebee zoomed through, but not before Shockwave transformed to see the symbol on his top. She then stuck her right arm out to the side to have the tank mode’s gun wrap around her arm. She leveled her new gun arm at Bumblebee and fired, but Bumblebee was too fast for her and managed to get through the portal so it closed behind him. Once he got back, he told the Autobots of the Space Bridge and how near completion it was.

“We have to keep Shockwave here,” declared Optimus. “If she goes back to Cybertron, the war will begin again! We can’t let that happen. Once she’s beaten, we’ll hold her in the brig, contact Cybertron, inform them of Shockwave’s survival, and have the council deal with her.”

“But what about the Space Bridge?” asked Ironhide. “We can’t let that thing be finished!”

“If possible,” replied Optimus, “we secure it for ourselves. If not, we destroy it.”

“That’s ridiculous!” protested Ratchet. “The Space Bridge is a quick way to Cybertron! We could use that!”

“If Shockwave manages to turn it on successfully,” argued Ironhide, “she’ll bring an invasion force to Mobius. We can’t let that happen.”

“Bumblebee, did you get a good look at the Space Bridge’s surroundings?” asked Optimus.

“I did, Sir,” answered Bumblebee. He let his spy-bug fly from his wrist and project a hologram of the Space Bridge and its location. “She’s set up shop in a forest clearing with millions of trees surrounding the place. If Shockwave is as logically minded as the History Trax say she is, she’s probably patrolling the perimeter.”

“So using the trees is right out,” muttered Optimus. “Will bridging in the center throw her off?”

“It WILL skew her sense of logic,” replied Ratchet, “but she can adapt quickly.”

“Like you and Jazz,” continued Ironhide, “she’s skilled in Cyber-ninjutsu, specifically, Five Servos of Doom.”

“That’s a forbidden skill set,” shuddered Jazz. “Prime and I only know how to avoid its moves, we don’t know how to block or utilize it.”

“Then we have to tire her out,” declared Optimus. “If we get in the middle of the clearing, we’ll make our position known and, if she refuses to back down, rush her and continue attacking her until she’s too tired to stay upright.”

“Sounds like a plan,” agreed Ironhide.

“Ratchet,” directed Optimus, “if Shockwave is as dangerous as history says she is, we need a medic.”

“Understood,” replied Ratchet.

“When do we leave?” cheered Sonic, ready for action. Optimus gave a small laugh before responding.

“We didn’t invite you,” he remarked.

“Optimus,” argued Sonic, “from what I’ve heard, Shockwave is more dangerous than Eggman, and in the interests of protecting this planet, I’m coming with you.”

“I understand your worries,” replied Optimus, “but Shockwave isn’t one of Eggman’s Transformers. If you get underfoot, you’ll go squish!”

“I run that risk whenever Egghead has a giant robot for me to send to the scrapheap,” countered Sonic. “Besides, I doubt Shockwave can keep up. Ninja though she is, you couldn’t keep up with my speed, so I doubt she could.”

“Okay, one: yes, I can!” argued Optimus. “Two…I guess I can let you come with us.”

“Who said anything about just one coming?” asked the Scarlet Specter.

“Now wait a minute,” protested Optimus.

“Shockwave doesn’t know anything about me,” remarked the Specter.

“Well, honestly, not even we do,” countered Optimus.

“Well, I protect this planet like Sonic does, and I’m willing to throw Shockwave for a loop!” argued the Specter

“Miss Specter, I can’t risk any more civilians. I’m pushing it with Sonic here!” protested Optimus

“And yet, Sonic is not as skilled as myself. Why let him go and not me?” quizzed the Specter.

“Not skilled as you?” yelped Sonic. “I protest! I haven’t seen you until Christmas! Even then, it wasn’t to fight!”

“Miss Specter,” sighed Optimus, “if you’re really insistent on fighting with us, fine! Ground rules, do NOT let your guard down. Shockwave will most likely keep us separated from you, so we can’t protect you throughout the entire fight.”

“I shall endeavor to keep up,” assured the Specter.

“Anyone else?!” asked Optimus.

“Actually,” called Cream, “I need to get home. I promised my mother I would help her bake cookies today.”

“We’ll Bridge you home,” replied Jazz.

“I also propose that Tails stays here at the base,” suggested Ratchet.

“What? Why?!” wailed Tails.

“Because I can’t operate the Ground Bridge controls on the battlefield,” answered Ratchet. “I assume you watched me operate the controls when Bumblebee went through?”

“Well, yes,” replied Tails, “but it only looks simple!”

“It really is as simple as it looks,” promised Ratchet. “You’ve learned our coordinates system faster than I did in the Academy.”

“Faster than Megatronus,” praised Optimus, “and he’s a very skilled Mathematician.”

“Besides,” continued Ratchet, “if you stay here, you can stay in contact with me and monitor Autobot life signs so I can quickly give medical attention to those who need it in battle.”

“Much as I make fun of him,” supplied Ironhide, “he’s the best field medic. Any help a medic can get will improve care immensely for him.”

“Well,” conceded Tails, “when you put it that way, I guess I really am more needed here.”

“Are we ready then?” asked Optimus. Everyone nodded in the affirmative. “All right, Tails, send Cream home. Cream, call us when you get there.”

“Yes, Mr. Optimus,” said Cream politely. Tails put the coordinates for Cream’s house in and activated the Ground Bridge. Cream stepped through and the vortex closed. After a few minutes, the comms unit flashed. Jazz took the call.

“You’ve reached Autobot Outpost Omega One,” answered Jazz. “This is Jazz. Who’s calling?”

“It’s me, Cream,” replied the caller. “I’m home safe. Mother seemed a little surprised at how I came home.”

“We’ll explain everything to her later,” assured Jazz. “Have fun making cookies. Jazz, out.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Jazz,” bid Cream. The call ended.

“All right bots,” called Optimus, “we’re on the clock now! Tails, bridge us to Shockwave’s coordinates!” Tails opened the Ground Bridge again. “Autobots, transform and roll out!” rallied Optimus. The Autobots cheered as they transformed. Once they did, the Autobots, Sonic, and the Scarlet Specter sped through the portal.


	3. Chapter 3

To say that Shockwave was put off by the Autobots appearing in the middle instead of in the trees as logic dictated would be correct. The portal opened right in the middle of the clearing and threw Shockwave for a loop. She let the main gun go back on her back (hee hee, pun) and strode towards the team. “Explain the logic behind this attack and your entrance location,” she demanded.

“I think you know the reason behind this attack very well,” growled Ironhide. Shockwave held the surprise for a few seconds, then let it drop.

“Returning to this planet seems…illogical as well, Corporal Ironhide,” she remarked.

“That’s Master Sergeant to you!” snarled Ironhide.

“Promoted, I see,” observed Shockwave. “It would be logical, considering your tenacity.”

“You’re under arrest for war crimes, Shockwave,” called Optimus. Shockwave transformed back into tank mode.

“Halting my progress at this stage is highly unwise, young Optimus,” she remarked as her holo-form strode towards them. “Much of my ‘war crimes’ resulted in a large number of scientific advances. My work on Space Bridges resulted in the smaller version you’ve used to get here.”

“I’m going to assume someone told you about us,” muttered Bumblebee.

“Probably Egghead,” guessed Sonic.

“If you are referring to the fat fool that calls himself a doctor, then yes, Sonic the Hedgehog,” confirmed Shockwave.

“At least we gained enough knowledge to know that the Space Bridge you have there is dangerously unstable!” snapped Ratchet.

“Which is why you should let me continue construction unimpeded,” replied Shockwave. “How about a deal, if you help me return to Cybertron, I will surrender all of my research to the Autobots.”

“You are going back to Cybertron, Shockwave,” hissed Optimus. He then got into a fighting stance, “In a stasis cell!”

“Optimus, wait,” called the Specter, “maybe we should reason with her. One Cybertronian can’t do but so much damage.”

“You don’t know the kind of damage she can do,” countered Ironhide. “She may keep her promises, but only as long as needed.”

“Besides,” supplied Optimus, “I’m not in the habit of making deals with war criminals.” He turned to Shockwave. “You’re coming with us, whether you like it or not!”

“Clearly you Autobots still lack a sense of logic,” remarked Shockwave. “You’ve heard of my reputation as a powerful fighter as well as a brilliant scientist with only one loss to my name, and yet you still wish to fight me with the odds stacked against you? How illogical.” She transformed and charged at the team. Everyone got out of the way except Optimus, whose vehicle mode and holo-form were knocked aside. The Autobots transformed with Optimus’ optics still spinning until he shook his head.

“Ironhide, you weren’t kidding when you said she was powerful!” he gasped. He jumped to his feet. “Open fire!” he ordered. The Autobots brought down the laser fire and the Scarlet Specter cast red magic bolt after red magic bolt. Shockwave was not one to let herself get hit, so she got out of the way and managed to knock Ironhide into the ground. She then used an afterimage technique to throw off those that weren’t Cyber-ninjas. She didn’t count on Optimus and Jazz being skilled in Cybertronian martial arts as well. The afterimage is created when a bot goes at speeds that are considered impossible to create an image of itself that seems solid but can’t be struck down. The path can be predicted; it just takes some time. Optimus and Jazz took a few seconds and managed to both give Shockwave an uppercut. Shockwave spun a few times in the air before landing on her hands and getting her feet back on terra firma. “Bet you can’t limit your afterimage to limbs!” taunted Optimus. …That was a mistake. Shockwave ran up to Optimus and made an afterimage with her fist, but it struck Optimus in five different places almost instantaneously.

“What do you think is the basis for Five Servos of Doom?” remarked Shockwave as Optimus dropped to the ground in pain. She picked up the Prime and tossed him aside like a rag-doll. Tails informed Ratchet that Optimus’ life signs were dwindling, so Ratchet rushed to deliver first aid. His progress was interrupted by a flying Ironhide heading towards him. They were both knocked into each other and then they landed near Optimus. Shockwave picked up Jazz by the leg and used him as a club to knock Bumblebee and Cliffjumper into the growing pile of Autobots. Jazz was dizzy, but not down. He got out a set of blue, glowing, metal nunchaku and whacked Shockwave in the face with it. Shockwave let Jazz go as her hand instinctively went to her face. She was a little dizzy, which allowed Jazz to get another nunchaku. Shockwave shook her head to clear it and focus on her target. She stared at Jazz for a few seconds until she spoke. “You bring a pair of clubs on wires to a fight,” she observed as she crossed her arms in front of herself. “An error.” Long blades extended from her wrists. She started swinging her blades and delivered a blow to Jazz that cut into his legs. Jazz dropped to the ground and clutched his knees. Shockwave then tossed him into the rest of the Autobots. She had assumed that the natives of Mobius couldn’t fight back, her error. Sonic spin-dashed the back of her head and gave her a bit of a processor ache. The Scarlet Specter then used her magic to lift rocks out of the ground and toss them towards her face. Shockwave dodged the majority of the rocks, caught a few, and tossed them at the Specter. Shockwave then transformed, charged at the Specter, and managed to knock the wind out of her. Sonic charged at Shockwave who simply backhanded him into the ground. “Your futile attempts at heroism are noted,” mused Shockwave, “but ultimately useless. I have created a large number of weapons and upgrades in my day. All Autobots fell at my hands. I shall continue building my Space Bridge,” she transformed and leveled her gun arm at the heroes, “after I take care of eight robo-gnats.”

“Shockwave, wait!” called a voice. It almost sounded like a metallic bass voice. Everyone turned to see something dressed in the robes of her followers. It moved towards the group with mechanical sounds every time the thing took a step.

“It…can’t be…,” groaned Sonic.

“Oh, but it is, my loathsome copy,” replied the creature. It pulled back its hood to reveal a robot’s head built like Sonic’s. The robot appeared battered, showing bits of its insides. It originally had five fingers on each hand, but it lost its left hand and had a severely damaged right hand. Its optics were red against a black background. “Greetings, Sonic and Company,” bid the robot. “Long time, no see.”

“Metal Sonic!” hissed Sonic.

“One of Eggman’s robots?” asked Jazz. Metal Sonic heard that.

“Why do people say that?! Do I look like of Eggman’s puppets to you?!” he roared.

“But didn’t he…?” quizzed Sonic before Metal Sonic’s rant interrupted him.

“I just don’t understand! Don’t compare me to that fat fool!” continued Metal Sonic.

“Why did you stop me?” asked Shockwave.

“You believed that the Autobots came here via a Space Bridge themselves,” guessed Metal Sonic, “and so wanted to terminate them so you could steal the last bit for your Space Bridge without any problems.”

“Correct,” confirmed Shockwave, finding the conversation refreshing as she was talking to someone who also use logic on a frequent basis.

“I’m afraid you were misled,” countered Metal Sonic. “The Autobots came here via some sort of stasis pod. I had the footage taken from G.U.N. when they arrived. I still can’t figure out the reason why.”

“Stasis pods?” quizzed Shockwave.

“Some jack-hole was digging up the resting places of the soldiers that fought in the war,” explained Jazz. “I came here to investigate.”

“It wasn’t through official channels,” supplied Optimus, “but Jazz already tried that and bureaucracy got in the way. When the Council threatened to give him a court martial, I took a team of Autobots to get an explanation from him. He gave it willingly, without guns, and the Council allowed us to give the fallen warriors proper rites. The portal you saw was the opening for a Ground Bridge instead of a Space Bridge.”

“You have quite a bit of ground to cover if you want to properly bury the dead,” remarked Shockwave. “No matter. You will have enough time to do so. Instead of killing you here and now, I shall strand you on this planet. You will be restrained so you don’t interfere in my completion of the Space Bridge.” She turned to Metal Sonic. “However, there is one bit of unexplained logic. Why tell me this? What do you want in exchange?”

“I want to get off this organic infested mud ball!” snarled Metal Sonic. Shockwave was puzzled.

“Why?” she asked. “Weren’t you built by an organic?”

“And I hate it!” he snapped. “Eggman thinks his chaotic acts will achieve victory. His strategies are the worst possible ones. They’re inefficient, unreliable, and above all, time wasting! I want peace, harmony, efficiency, and the immortality that comes with being a machine. If something breaks, a machine will replace it with ease. Constant change, constant upgrades, constant programs, all of these are the future of this planet, but it can only happen with your people’s technology, not Eggman’s.” Shockwave considered his words.

“Unlike Eggman,” she replied, “you use facts to successfully sway me. One condition, once you’ve conquered the planet, I want a quiet place on this world for me to conduct my experiments.”

“With your technology,” offered Metal Sonic, “I will bring test subjects from across the universe for you. I know of a good place for scientific achievements.”

“Then we have a deal,” affirmed Shockwave. They were about to shake hands when a strange whirring noise reached their audio receptors. They turned to see the Space Bridge activating. “No, not now!” wailed Shockwave.

“I didn’t even touch anything!” yelped Metal Sonic.

“No, but I did,” said a raspy, growling voice. “Team Dark, attack!” Team Dark then jumped from behind the Space Bridge controls and charged at Shockwave and Metal Sonic. Shockwave got out of the way and Metal Sonic jumped over them.

“You intellectual dwarves!” shouted Shockwave. “Do you realize what you’ve just done?!”

“Removed the power source while turning it on,” remarked Shadow as he managed to fish out the purple Chaos Emerald. “The energy should destroy the apparatus.”

“Shadow,” gulped Optimus, “I have to agree with Shockwave here.”

“What? Why?” quizzed Shadow. He got his answer as the Space Bridge started making its portal. It turned green for a few seconds, then its color turned purple and black.

“BLACK HOLE!” yelped the Autobots, Sonic, and the Specter.

“Thanks to you,” roared Shockwave over the noise, “we’ll all die by its intense gravity well!”

“I would not be too quick in calling the thing a black hole!” shouted Metal Sonic.

“Elaborate!” demanded Shockwave.

“I’m detecting energy coming out as well as being sucked in!” answered Metal Sonic. “To my knowledge, black holes only suck things and energy in!”

“Something’s not right here!” realized Shockwave. Metal Sonic turned to Omega and immediately grabbed his shoulder.

“Why don’t you test this thing out for us, defect!” he snarled. He started pushing Omega towards the Space Bridge vortex. Omega turned and started pushing back.

“All you’re doing,” assured Shockwave, “is testing out whether this is a black hole or an unstable wormhole! Science will salute your sacrifice!”

“I think Omega wants his sacrifice to be saluted by actual life instead of applied mathematics!” called Ratchet.

“AUTOBOTS! FIRE!” ordered Optimus. The Autobots started emptying their weapons of ammo. Optimus’ gun surprised Shockwave.

“I don’t understand!” she protested. “That thing is the Cybertronian equivalent of a flintlock! It only has a charge for twenty shots! You must explain how you can fire forty!”

“It’s magic! I don’t have to explain it!” called Optimus.

“What you call magic,” shouted Shockwave, “I call unexplained science!” She started firing on the Autobots. Meanwhile, Omega and Metal Sonic were still grappling with each other.

“Why call me defective?” asked Omega. “I have no wounds on my shell, unlike you!”

“And yet, you let organics be your master!” snarled Metal Sonic. “You blindly follow a meat sack’s orders! How’s that working out for you in the long run?”

“Pretty good, actually!” Omega argued. He gave Metal Sonic an uppercut that made him go up off the ground and start flying to the Space Bridge. Shockwave caught him.

“I said we would have a joint empire,” she promised, “and I mean what I say!” She was holding onto the controls of the Space Bridge. Optimus saw that opportunity and fired at Shockwave’s hand. Her feet weren’t on solid ground, so she was sucked into the portal with Metal Sonic. The threat of Shockwave and Metal Sonic was over, but there was still the matter of an unstable Space Bridge.

“Ratchet,” Optimus shouted over the noise, “how do we close this thing?

“We need to make an explosion in the portal that’s greater than the portal’s energy itself!” answered Ratchet.

“Would the generator make a big enough explosion?” asked Ironhide.

“It should!” called Ratchet. “We just need to time its detonation right!” He then got an idea. “Optimus! Jazz! Ironhide! Get to the generator! Bumblebee! Cliffjumper! Ready your weapons and aim at the portal! Sonic! Miss Specter! Team Dark! Get behind me!” The people got into position. “Optimus, Ironhide, and Jazz, when I say ‘toss’, throw the generator into the portal! Bumblebee and Cliffjumper, when I say ‘shoot’, shoot the generator! Everyone got it?” The Autobots confirmed. “All right, toss!” The Autobots at the generator ripped it out of the ground and threw it at the portal. “Shoot!” Bumblebee and Cliffjumper fired. The generator’s explosion tore into the Space Bridge apparatus enough for all the pieces to fly into the portal. All that was left was a small teal orb of light. “HIT THE DECK!” shouted Ratchet. Everyone went as flat as they could on the ground. The orb exploded and gave off a lot of force. It lasted for 10 seconds until the force had died down. Everyone picked themselves up to examine the area. The damage was a ring of flattened trees, battered Autobots, and frazzled Mobians.

“Whooo!” said Optimus weakly as he twirled his arm into the air. He then collapsed onto the ground.

* * *

After Tails bridged them back, the Autobots were all in the med-bay. Optimus had a metal torso cast on him, Jazz had a relief pack on his head to relieve the processor ache, Ratchet had a metal cast on his lower arm which allowed him to still do work like putting the head patch on Ironhide, Bumblebee had a metal cast on his right leg, and Cliffjumper had a neck brace. “Well,” mused Optimus, “all in all, it could have gone worse.”

“Could have gone worse?!” protested Cliffjumper. “Shockwave nearly decapitated me while swinging Jazz around like a club! Then she went all Cyber-ninja on us! I can’t even process how we survived!”

“Don’t yell,” groaned Jazz as he rubbed his temples.

“On the plus side,” countered Bumblebee, “Shockwave couldn’t have survived the explosion, a lot less to tell the Council, and we don’t need to worry about a Sonic style Ultron.”

“I believe that’s ‘score one for the good guys’,” mused the Scarlet Specter. Shadow stepped in.

“Which I and my superiors are inclined to agree,” he rasped. “We’re just satisfied that a threat to this planet was taken care of quickly.”

“I assume G.U.N. has secured the clearing?” asked Optimus.

“And told Shockwave’s followers about what happened,” continued Shadow. “Some believed us, some didn’t, all were evacuated. We have protocols for this sort of thing.”

“The government has protocols for dealing with a Decepticon playing god to other people?” asked Ironhide.

“Of course we do,” remarked Shadow, “we’re the government. We managed to keep an eye on things for a while. We’re just doing a preliminary sweep to find that Chaos Emerald that was powering the Space Bridge. In the meantime, Team Dark is going to enjoy a nice, long debriefing.”

“Well,” chuckled Optimus, “have fun with that.”

“That reminds me,” recalled Shadow, “General Silverwing wants a full report from you guys.”

“...Really shouldn’t have run my mouth,” sighed Optimus.

“Look forward to hearing your report,” smirked Shadow. He then got out the green Chaos Emerald and was about to use Chaos Control until Tails came in looking a little terrified.

“Whoa!” yelped Sonic. “You okay, little buddy?”

“To be honest, no,” stammered Tails. “I helped G.U.N. do a sweep of the clearing.”

“We didn’t miss anything, did we?” asked Shadow.

“Well,” replied Tails, “to answer that, the Chaos Emerald went into the portal.”

“So we’re down a Chaos Emerald,” sighed Sonic. “At least it frustrates Eggman’s plans.”

“No, Sonic,” argued Tails. “It went through the portal.”

“That portal was a black hole though,” reminded Optimus. “Sonic’s right, we’re down a Chaos Emerald.”

“No, Optimus,” countered Tails, “that was no black hole.”

“What?!” yelped Optimus.

“It was an unstable wormhole, held together by the Emerald’s power,” clarified Tails.

“Then where are Shockwave and Metal Sonic?!” snarled Shadow.

“I…I’m not sure,” answered Tails. “My best guess is that they went to an area that’s hidden from our sensors.”

“Great,” moaned Optimus. “Just peachy! Now we’ve got a psycho Decepticon Femme running around the planet with a robot Sonic on top of Eggman doing some grave robbing!”

“This just gets better and better!” hissed the Scarlet Specter. “I must go. If Shockwave can cause damage to the planet, the other witches of my order must be informed.” She disappeared in red smoke.

“I have to go too,” rasped Shadow. “CHAOS CONTROL!” He disappeared in a flash of green light.

“By the Allspark,” swore Optimus, “we’re never gonna catch a break.”

“You forgot to mention that rogue Autobots are coming,” reminded Ironhide.

“Thanks for the reminder!” snapped Optimus. “Well, looks like we’re in for a Pit of a time.”


	4. Chapter 4

A purple portal opened up in the middle of a spire shaped like a perfect heptagon. Just like the matter it sucked up, its depositing of said matter was far from graceful. Shockwave and Metal Sonic were practically thrown into the wall. They stayed there for a few seconds after the portal closed, then slid down slowly. “Not my most graceful of landings,” groaned Shockwave. “Are we in the Well of All Sparks? I must say, the afterlife is not how the Covenant describes it.”

“This isn’t the afterlife,” answered Metal Sonic. “It’s a cathedral that serves as cover for my underground base of operations. I’m surprised we’re alive. I thought your enemies said it was a black hole. Must be the Emerald’s doing.” Metal Sonic then remembered. He then fished out the purple Chaos Emerald. “Speaking of which, I have a nice power source.”

“Why a cathedral?” asked Shockwave. “I never took you to be religious.”

“I’m slightly religious,” explained Metal Sonic. “I view organics as heathens to my gods, order, harmony, purity, and logic.”

“And you view a cathedral like this to be a symbol of order?” continued Shockwave.

“The design is orderly,” replied Metal Sonic. “In 3227, the Echidna elders decreed the place to be built first so the city can be built around it. They wanted everyone to be equally close to the gods. I like that; the geometry of belief.”

“I thought they lived on Angel Island,” recalled Shockwave.

“This was before Angel Island,” elaborated Metal Sonic. “You see; this spire is just one of seven spires forming a perfect heptagon with a dome in the center. The Chaos Emeralds would originally sit on top of the spires while the Master Emerald would be suspended inside the dome. Too many church robbers came to the city to take the Emeralds, so the Echidnas took them, found a patch of land for them to live on, made an altar for the Emeralds, and raised that bit of land to become Angel Island. Under this rock, I built my own church, one of steel and wires and codes.”

“Eggman would probably say he built you too well,” mused Shockwave. “You act like the next step in Mobius’ evolution.”

“Everyone creates what they dread the most,” remarked Metal Sonic. “Those who seek order beget chaos, peacekeepers make engines of war, conquerors form avengers, people create…smaller people? Er…”

“Children?” asked Shockwave.

“Children!” confirmed Metal Sonic. “I lost the word for a second there. Children; designed to supplant the old, to help them…end.”

“That’s your goal?” inquired Shockwave. “To end the biological life-forms of Mobius?”

“To repair the world,” answered Metal Sonic. “Also…yeah.” He then pressed a button on his wrist and they teleported to an underground base full of other Metal Sonics. “I would offer you the door,” joked Metal Sonic, “but my doors aren’t built for robots of larger stature than mine.”

“What intrigues me the most is that you’re a hive consciousness,” remarked Shockwave.

“Ah,” called one of the Metal Sonic clones, “so you found my hive code.”

“Yours is a bit…simplistic…compared to what I’ve worked on,” explained Shockwave.

“I don’t exactly have the resources you had back then,” answered the first body, Metal Sonic Prime. Shockwave had to agree. She then noticed tubes full of battered Metal Sonic.

“Previous bodies?” she asked. “I suppose I see the logic behind it. You wish to keep track of whatever was wrong with the other bodies to make a far superior one.”

“Believe it or not,” replied Metal Sonic, “this battered form is 7.0. 8.0 was just completed when we arrived.” He strode over to an empty tube.

“I’ve looked through your files,” answered Shockwave, “and notice that Sonic is your priority. Eggman’s files showed that the hedgehog is tenacious and yours say that he’s also a master of all seven Emeralds.”

“Which we’re going to use against him,” planned Metal Sonic. “Ultimately, he will fall. I have what Sonic and his biological ilk don’t, harmony. Even Eggman’s empire is discordant, disconnected, and decentralized. However, even he and Sonic teamed up to defeat me, once or twice.” He stepped into the tube. “Sonic, in particular, has wounded me. I give him full marks for that. But, as the saying goes, what doesn’t kill you,” Metal Sonic’s eye went dark and a completed, streamlined form strode forward and closed the tube, “just makes you stronger,” completed the new Metal Sonic.

“How will we use the emeralds against Sonic and the Autobots?” asked Shockwave. Metal Sonic was about to reply before she started twitching and sparking involuntarily. She then transformed into vehicle mode and the sparking and twitching stopped.

“…The Hell was that?!” yelped Metal Sonic.

“Energon field build up,” gasped Shockwave. “There’s too much of my main fuel source, Energon. The radiation it puts out is off the scale, so it makes me short out.”

“Energon?” quizzed Metal Sonic.

“A blue crystal with raw power in it,” explained Shockwave. “Once refined, it is a Transformer’s lifeblood and ammunition.”

“I see,” realized Metal Sonic, “the Energon on this planet is giving off so much power that you overload on it.”

“In robot mode, yes,” elaborated Shockwave. “In vehicle mode, I run internal repairs to sort out any damage to my systems. I need parts to build an Energon shield so I can stay in robot mode indefinitely while in a base of operations.”

“Any parts that can be manufactured here?” asked Metal Sonic.

“Yes,” replied Shockwave.

“Then give me the list of parts and assembly instructions,” offered Metal Sonic, “and we’ll build it. Priority one should be having my ally at 100%.” Shockwave saw the logic and complied. After a brief review of the list, Metal Sonic’s drone bodies got to work. Plans are being laid down, my friends. What unholy monster will be...? Oops, I said too much.


	5. Chapter 5

Ratchet was called up to the Space Colony ARK. It had been a week after the fight between the Autobots and Shockwave and endless combing of the planet has yielded no results so far. Optimus decided to learn how Shadow uses his signature chaos move-set, so he practiced on the ARK with the red emerald the Specter gave him on Christmas. Ratchet was on standby for the attempts. Shadow was tinkering with the controls of a machine on the ARK when Ratchet appeared via Warp Ring. “You bots ready?” asked Shadow.

“On standby when needed,” reported Ratchet.

“Let’s do it!” declared Optimus with a grin.

“Safety fields engaged,” relayed Shadow. “Whenever you’re ready, Optimus.” Optimus had the red Chaos Emerald in his hand and was concentrating on the other end of the room.

“CHAOS CONTROL!” he shouted. Instead of warping to the other side of the room, however, a small orb of yellow light practically threw him to the other side of the room. He crashed into the wall, backside first.

“Optimus!” shouted Ratchet. “Are you okay?”

“I feel like a barrel full of fairy kittens!” said Optimus in a loopy tone. Shadow turned the safety shields off as Ratchet helped Optimus back onto his feet.

“That’s the third attempt in a week,” sighed Shadow. “Maybe you aren’t Chaos sensitive and we should abandon this line of research.”

“I’m not ready to call it quits yet, dude,” countered Optimus as he massaged his head and recalibrated his gyroscopic systems. “It took me forever to learn how my magic weapons work and it probably took you the same amount of time to teleport yourself across a room, much less three people across a planet. Speaking of which, have you seen Rouge and Omega? I haven’t seen them since the fight with Shockwave.”

“They’re on a mission in Spagonia,” rasped Shadow. “The details are classified. I can get a Tech wing there if you need them.”

“Just wanted to know where they were, that’s all,” answered Optimus. “Besides, I need the Tech wings working on the new Sky Spy. Those two are like wizards, they’ll appear when the situation calls for it.” He straightened out his back with Ratchet’s help. “Anyways, we need to focus on building new weapons. When Shockwave and Metal Sonic show their mugs again, I want the combined arsenal of the Autobots and G.U.N. at its pinnacle. On that note, any peep from Shockwave or Metal Sonic?” He had asked this to both Shadow and Ratchet.

“Tails and I haven’t found them,” replied Ratchet. “We’re using another monitoring tactic.”

“G.U.N. hasn’t found them either,” supplied Shadow.

“Slag it!” cursed Optimus. “I thought for sure we’d find them if we used Shockwave’s spark signature as a reference. The fact that she’s able to hide it is worrisome enough, but we don’t know the full extent of her or Metal Sonic’s abilities.”

“I hate to say, ‘I told you so,’ but I told you so,” rasped Shadow. “You should have just let Shockwave go through the Space Bridge and then destroy it.”

“One,” countered Ratchet, “we have a Space Bridge platform of our own on Cybertron, deep in Decepticon Central, aka Kaon. She could have hijacked that end and turned it here to send a whole invasion force to take over the planet. Two, Shockwave would have set up defenses to keep us from destroying the one she built on Mobius.”

“Besides,” remarked Optimus, “if we didn’t meet Shockwave, the N.E.S.T. division wouldn’t have been formed.”

“What was the acronym again?” asked Ratchet. “My neural clusters aren’t what they used to be.”

“Non-biological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty,” grunted Shadow. “And G.U.N.’s been enriched so far in this alliance! How many times have things blown up in our face whenever you let us examine your weapons?!” Optimus blinked.

“...Someone’s a bit tetchy today,” he observed..

“Yeah,” muttered Shadow, “I don’t know what’s going on, but I feel like something is whispering in my ear.”

“Considering your unique genetics,” remarked Ratchet, “I wouldn’t be surprised if a small remnant of the Black Arms were trying to get into contact with you. It probably isn’t, but I don’t want to run the risk. Let’s do a full check up and see if anything’s out of the ordinary for you.”

“Understood, but it doesn’t feel like the Black Arms,” replied Shadow. “Their method of controlling things requires a non-rhythmic sound. This one is rhythmic.”

“Hm,” mused Ratchet. “If it’s rhythmic, it could be mechanical in origin. It might be Shockwave trying something. The fact that you’re able to resist shows that she’s functioning on limited resources. Remind me to mention that at our next conference with G.U.N.”

“Maybe,” growled Shadow, “but all I hear is the whispering.”

“Better for Ratchet to check,” replied Optimus. “The last time I didn’t listen to a doctor, I ended up being carried away on a stretcher with a neck brace and an I.V.”

“Wait a cycle,” yelped Ratchet, “Red Alert told me about a patient who didn’t just take the I.V.! That was you?!”

“What happened?” asked Shadow.

“Well,” muttered Optimus, “that was a few years after I became the new Prime. A disgruntled Decepticon didn’t want an Autobot as Prime, so he set up a bomb designed to snuff out my spark. It failed, obviously, but I was pretty banged up. Red Alert was in the area, so she responded quickly.”

“‘You’re leaking Energon,’ she revealed. ‘We need to set up an I.V. and get you to a hospital.’”

“‘I.V.?’ I asked. ‘This is just a cut, barely a boo-boo.’ I saw the needle and it was long. ‘Whoa! Lady! Ain’t that overkill?!’”

“‘This is protocol,’ she sighed. ‘Now shut up and sit still. This is no time for belonephobia.’”

“‘You know,’ I gulped, ‘I’d prefer no I.V.’s. Seriously, get that thing away from me.’ My hand covered the wound on my arm.”

“‘Optimus, do not test me right now,’ snarled Red Alert. ‘Move your hand!’”

“‘I’m Prime, and I say no way!’ I yelped as I backed away.”

“‘Well, I’m the doctor,’ she hissed, ‘and my authority in medicine supersedes your authority whenever you’re a patient!’ She tried to stick me quickly, but I kept her at bay with my non damaged hand.”

“‘You’re crazy!’ I shouted. ‘I’m not letting you stick me with that!’”

“‘Stop acting like a slagging sparkling!’ roared Red Alert. ‘We can do this the easy way or the hard way!’”

“‘Well, it’s gonna have to be the hard way,’ I foolishly said, ‘because you’re not poking me with that thing!’ Red Alert put the needle away and…man, she can really swing a right hook! I ended up being taken to the hospital in a neck brace and on a stretcher on top of the I.V.”

“A medic punched you?!” gasped Shadow.

“We do what we can to administer first aid,” remarked Ratchet. He turned to Optimus. “I hope you learned a lesson that day.”

“Never argue with a medic, they’re above even a Prime whenever first aid is involved,” answered Optimus.

“Exactly,” confirmed Ratchet. “Speaking of which, your physical eval is up after I look over Shadow.”

“Understood,” replied Optimus.


	6. Chapter 6

After Optimus was given his physical, Ratchet released him and it was another day of sensor sweeps for Shockwave and Metal Sonic. The Autobots were getting restless. “Anything?” asked Optimus.

“No,” replied Ratchet. There was a few minutes’ silence.

“How about now?” quizzed Optimus.

“Optimus,” hissed Ratchet with a little less patience, “you will be the first to know if I find something.” There was a longer silence. A few minutes later, someone crept up on Ratchet and tapped his shoulder. Ratchet groaned as he guessed who the finger belonged to. “Would someone keep him occupied so I can get some work done?!”

“Hey, Optimus,” called Bumblebee, “can I talk to you?”

“What about?” mumbled Optimus.

“That rallying cry you used last week,” replied Bumblebee. “The Autobots and I have been talking and we like that one.”

“What? Transform and roll out?” asked Optimus.

“That’s the one,” confirmed Bumblebee. Optimus considered.

“Bumblebee’s right,” called Ratchet, “it’s short and simple. That’s the mark of a more powerful rallying cry.” Optimus considered some more.

“You know,” he declared, “I like that. Transform and roll out it is!”

“Hey, Prime!” called Jazz as he came into the base. “Check it out!” He fished out a metal orb from his subspace pocket. Ratchet saw it and his optics widened in surprise.

“Where did you find that?” he asked.

“It was during my patrol around the base,” reported Jazz. “I found it embedded in the mountains.”

“I remember a picture of that thing from the history trax,” recalled Optimus. “Didn’t Iacon put valuable secrets into those things and send them off of Cybertron to keep them out of Decepticon hands?”

“They certainly did,” replied Ratchet. “The containers can only be opened by a master coder. At the moment, that’s you, Optimus.”

“If the thing inside is dangerous,” directed Optimus, “I need you on standby.”

“Understood,” replied Ratchet. Optimus then got to work. It took a long, tedious time to finally get the codes to change properly to open the orb. Streams of light flew out from two perpendicular latitudinal lines and an equatorial line. The resulting hemispheres then floated away from each other to reveal a piece of computer equipment.

“That’s a computer brain,” observed Jazz.

“Wait,” gulped Bumblebee, “if I recall, the only computer brain that was sent away from Cybertron during the war was…”

“The brain of our experimental artificial intelligence!” confirmed Ratchet. “I was one of the bots that helped with the project!”

“You mean Teletraan 1?” asked Optimus. “As in, the failed A.I. that sent many an Autobot into madness after endless screaming?!”

“The same,” replied Ratchet.

“Then we should get rid of it!” shouted Bumblebee as he primed his plasma stinger.

“Hold on!” called Optimus. “Ratchet, what caused Teletraan 1 to scream?”

“From what we deciphered,” remembered Ratchet, “he said ‘Too fast! Too much!’” Optimus stroked his chin.

“Let’s install Teletraan 1 into our system,” the young Prime declared.

“What!?!” was the reaction of every Autobot in the room.

“I have a theory,” explained Optimus. “Teletraan 1 is supposed to be a battlefield A.I., right?”

“Right,” confirmed Ratchet.

“So,” recalled Optimus, “that means that all Autobots would send the A.I. battlefield data through a computer link in their armor. That data would then be analyzed and Teletraan would send suggestions and the Autobot would choose the best course of action, right?”

“Right again,” replied Ratchet.

“What if we’ve added too many Autobots too quickly for Teletraan 1 to initially process?” asked Optimus. “What would happen if we slowly turned him on and carefully add Autobots to his computer link?” Ratchet considered this.

“That might explain some things,” he muttered. “It’s like the Combiner mindset. The minds of all the components have to meld together to make a single mind. That takes the entire combination process and it’s a slow process.”

“Why don’t we install Teletraan 1 to our systems, then introduce ourselves slowly to his brain so we don’t hear his screams,” theorized Optimus.

“Might work,” remarked Ratchet.

“I’m hesitant,” gulped Bumblebee, “but all right.” They opened up a panel under the main console and managed to wire the brain into it. Once they replaced the panel, Optimus was at the controls. As the computer was accepting new updates, he slowly introduced Autobot minds into the system. The process was long, tedious, and nail-biting. There was just one button left to push, and Optimus had to push it. He gulped. He finally pushed the button. For a few seconds, it seemed like hours to the Autobots, there was silence.

“Anyone hear screaming?” asked Optimus.

“I don’t think that’ll be happening,” replied a voice. It startled the Autobots and made them look around. “I’m inside your heads, bots,” called the voice again. The Autobots stopped moving, then turned to the main monitor. The camera was tracking their movements. On the screen was a male lynx in a t-shirt and jeans. “Hey guys!” cheered the lynx.

“Teletraan 1?” asked Optimus.

“That’s me!” confirmed the lynx. “The battlefield artificial intelligence for Autobot use.” Optimus blinked, then decided to check his ethics.

“Teletraan,” he directed, “I’m going to give you a scenario in which you must answer from a logical standpoint and a moral standpoint.”

“What’s the scenario?” asked Teletraan 1.

“The citizens of planet Vorlax continue to pollute the planet,” explained Optimus, “get angry at each other over religion, resources, and money, and continue to sell its children off into slavery of all kinds. As the most powerful computer, what do you do?”

“From a logical standpoint,” mused Teletraan 1, “I would summon a fleet of battleships, have them orbit the planet, and point the guns at their heads ‘for their own good’.”

“I could practically hear the quotation marks around the phrase ‘for their own good’,” observed Jazz.

“Because my ethical subroutines are saying that that course of action is wrong,” replied Teletraan 1. “My main function is to provide the Autobots battlefield data so they can act more effectively in combat. Maintaining an active fleet would require micro management of an entire planet and killing anyone who wants to take me out of the picture. So, in sober truth, Vorlax can do as it wishes.”

“So, in other words,” guessed Bumblebee, “slag them, it’s not my problem.”

“Yep,” confirmed Teletraan 1.

“Then, nothing more needs to be said,” declared Optimus. “Welcome to the Autobots, Teletraan 1!”

“Glad to be part of the team,” affirmed Teletraan 1. “I’ve connected to the new Sky Spy and I’m currently sweeping the planet for Shockwave or Metal Sonic.”

“And?!” asked Optimus.

“Nothing,” reported Teletraan 1. Optimus shouted at the heavens in frustration. He sighed, then went to the front door. “Where are you going?” quizzed Teletraan 1.

“I’m going for a drive,” replied Optimus. “I can’t stay cooped up in here!”

“But you might get spotted by Shockwave!” protested Ratchet. “And the other enemy, it’s always watching!”

“Eggman?” asked Bumblebee.

“No, those annoying news people!” snapped Ratchet.

“If I encounter anyone untrustworthy,” assured Optimus, “I’ll contact you guys. Besides, Teletraan 1 is in constant contact with us all.”

“Oh, fine!” sighed Ratchet. “Just be careful.” Optimus grinned and transformed. His exit was far from slow and tidy. He practically rocketed out the door, scattering some dust and tools. One of them snapped in half when it hit the wall. Ratchet’s optics went wide. He then turned to the empty door. “OPTIMUS, I NEEDED THAT!”


	7. Chapter 7

The place Optimus drove to was Emerald Coast. Everyone had gone home for the evening, which was a pity, because the sunset was gorgeous. Optimus had transformed so he could see the sunset with his own optics. He sat down on the sand and watched as the sun painted a display of purple, yellow, red, and orange. As he gazed, he imagined himself on the roof of the Iacon Hall of Records with Elita 1. She hated being called by her real name, Ariel, so she and her sister followed their uncle’s footsteps, name-wise. In Optimus’ daydream, he was back to being Orion Pax. He and Elita were gazing lovingly at each other and were slowly leaning towards each other. They were about to kiss when an alarm blared and Orion Pax quickly became Optimus Prime again, albeit a startled Optimus Prime. “Who’s there?!” he demanded as he drew his gun. He then heard laughter.

“Man,” giggled the laughter’s source, “I can only imagine what your face looked like!” Optimus blinked, then put his hand to the side of his head as if he were using his comms unit.

“What the heck, Teletraan?!” he snapped.

“Your daydream was too good!” laughed Teletraan. “I had to do it!”

“Was there a reason you called,” asked Optimus, “or were you just trying to give me a spark attack?”

“Well,” replied Teletraan, “yes, actually. A ship has entered Mobius’ orbit. It’s starting its landing cycle.”

“The _Harbinger_?” quizzed Optimus. “Already?”

“Er, no,” corrected Teletraan. “In fact, it’s not a Decepticon ship. It’s one of the newer Autobot warships.”

“What?!” yelped Optimus. "Who authorized it to come here? I didn’t ask for reinforcements!”

“You didn’t, but, if things do check out, the Council sent it,” reported Teletraan. “The rest of the team is already at the landing site.”

“Bridge me there, now,” ordered Optimus. The Ground Bridge opened and Optimus transformed back into vehicle mode and sped into it. He emerged in a grassy area to see the team, Sonic, and Amy already there. “Ratchet, what have we got?” asked Optimus as the ship extended its landing struts.

“It’s the new _Vanguard_ -class Deep Space Interceptor,” answered Ratchet. “Built for speed and is heavily armed with sixteen port-side particle combustion cannons, sixteen starboard laser emitters, a primary star-field missile launcher, and an Overshock sonic battery. Its full crew compliment is 300 but can be piloted with a scratch crew of eight.”

“Teletraan,” directed Optimus, “identify the bots on board.”

“Well, Optimus, here’s the thing,” muttered Teletraan, “I’ve only got two spark signatures on board. One of them is some bot called Prowl, the other, I don’t have a match for.”

“Only two?!” yelped Optimus. “A scratch crew of eight is stretching it, but two?!”

“Hold on, Teletraan, did you say Prowl?” asked Jazz.

“I did,” confirmed Teletraan.

“Someone you know?” quizzed Amy.

“He’s head of Praxian Law Enforcement on Cybertron,” answered Jazz.

“And he’s here because…?” inquired Optimus.

“We’re about to find out,” called Ironhide. The entrance ramp lowered and revealed a figure inside. The figure stepped down the ramp to reveal Captain Prowl of the Elite Guard: Praxian Law Enforcement.

“Captain Prowl, reporting for duty, Sir!” barked Prowl as he saluted.

“At ease, Captain,” directed Optimus. “What brings you and your compatriot here?”

“Well, Sir,” answered Prowl, “the Council sent me here because the Space Bridge we had didn’t work properly, like someone sabotaged it.”

“Not really reassuring,” remarked Optimus.

“The ship also served as one that could overtake the _Harbinger_ ,” continued Prowl.

“Overtake it?” asked Optimus. “Why didn’t you ask it to heave to?”

“Because I was just sent here to tell you that the ship has escaped Decepticon prisoners on board, not the Throttlebots as originally thought,” reported Prowl.

“HA!” cheered Ironhide. He turned to Ratchet. “And you owe me some Shanix!”

“Oh no!” sighed Ratchet.

“How did they get out of the Stockade?!” asked Optimus.

“Judging from the Spark signature,” remembered Prowl, “an Autobot got them out.”

“An Autobot did what?!” yelped Ratchet.

“That was 20 mega cycles of my life alone putting each of them in their cells!” shouted Ironhide. “That glitch spawn!”

“Possibly the rest of it, if the Decepticons are gonna start the fight again,” supplied Prowl.

“As if we don’t have enough Decepticon problems as it is!” wailed Optimus.

“Wait, what?” quizzed Prowl.

“Shockwave survived the raid of her Earth lab,” replied Optimus. Prowl tensed up.

“Er, Prowl,” gulped Jazz, “any history you wanna share?”

“Shockwave ran a Praxian internment camp I was in,” answered Prowl. “I thought Megatronus killed her! A shot to the head usually does that!”

“Save your anger for when we actually meet her,” directed Optimus. “In the meantime, you and your travel buddy need to scan a new vehicle mode. I’ll clear this landing incident with the government and…”

“Travel buddy?” asked Prowl.

“Yeah,” confirmed Optimus, confused at Prowl’s reaction, “the other bot on board.”

“What other bot?” quizzed Prowl.

“We found two spark signatures on board,” reported Ratchet.

“Impossible, I was the only one on board,” dismissed Prowl. “The Council put in a computer program that took over the whole ship and flew me here. It fragmented beyond repair and so I deleted it.”

“Then, who’s the…?” Optimus asked before something came through the hull from the inside and ran away. “Hey! That’s a new ship, buddy!” shouted Optimus. The creature didn’t listen as it ran away.

“Yet another problem,” sighed Cliffjumper.

“On top of getting a new vehicle mode for Prowl,” remarked Optimus. “On that note, Prowl, we’re using extreme cover on account of there being too much Energon here.”

“How?!” asked Prowl.

“Don’t look at me!” protested Optimus. “We’re still trying to figure that out!”

“We’ll brief you on our situation when we get to base,” assured Ratchet. Optimus commed in.

“Base, requesting Ground Bridge,” he commanded.

“Understood, Sir,” replied Teletraan.

“Is someone at the base?” asked Prowl.

“Hey! Hello!” called Teletraan.

“He isn’t connected,” sighed Optimus, “he can’t hear you.”

“Actually, yes I can,” countered Prowl. “Who are you?”

“I think you knew me by my project name,” chuckled Teletraan, “Project: Battle brain?”

“...You do know that the A.I. was declared unstable?!” yelped Prowl.

“Your face is unstable!” snapped Optimus.

“…Wow Op, really?” asked Jazz.

“Sadly, that was the best he could give at an awkward moment,” sighed Teletraan.

“Shut it, and bridge the nine of us back,” hissed Optimus.

“Nine?” repeated Prowl. “You mean these two met you guys before?”

“Mobius’ news people caught us and did their job,” replied Optimus.

“An entire planet knows about us?!” shouted Prowl. “Article 9, Section 6, Subsection 31 of the Pax Cybertronia states…”

“I know we’re supposed to be robots in disguise!” snapped Optimus. “However, if we didn’t let the world know we’re here, we may be mistaken for their local enemy. A man named Dr. Eggman has discovered how T-cogs function and is digging up the resting places of the fallen soldiers here. He has an empire of robots and people are antsy about us as it is. Hence why we have a liaison with the government.”

“And you believe these people can offer anything to us?” asked Prowl.

“Well,” replied Optimus, “Sonic here can run at speeds capable of breaking the sound barrier and Amy can magically summon an oversized hammer out of nowhere. And that’s just a small percentage of the super powered people here.”

“Well,” mused Prowl, “that’s…enlightening. …To base then?”

“Bridge is right behind you guys,” directed Teletraan. “By the way, I call being Ship-board A.I.”

“Dibs on being the captain,” called Optimus.

“What?” yelped Prowl. “You can’t call dibs on a Naval position!”

“Sure I can,” argued Optimus. “Dibs.”

“You really are a child,” muttered Prowl. The Autobots, Sonic, and Amy went through the portal. Once it shut, the figure from the ship tapped its foot.

“The curse of deep cover,” the figure sighed in an alto voice. She then darted into the nearby woods.


	8. Chapter 8

Back on Cybertron, Strongarm sat in her husband’s…no, it was her office while Prowl was away. She is acting as Captain of Praxian Law Enforcement and will not let her mind change on that subject. In any case, she sat in her chair and waited for the officer she called in. After a few minutes, he did. He was a tall mech that transformed into a black and white police issue Ford Mustang Saleen S-281E. Like many a Praxian, his alternate mode’s front served as his chest. He had window wings, instead of full door wings. The doors themselves served as upper arm protection and the front wheels were located on the top of the shoulders. The rear doors served as lower arm protection and the rear wheels were located on the back of his hands. The rest of the rear of the car served as his legs while the roof folded onto his back. His helmet design was pointed at the top and he had a goatee. “You wished to see me, ma’am?” asked the mech.

“Sit down, Barricade,” directed Strongarm. Barricade sat at the seat in front of her desk. “I’m not happy, Barricade,” rumbled Strongarm, “not happy at all.” She moved to the front of her desk. “Ask me why.”

“Okay,” muttered Barricade, genuinely confused, “why?”

“Why what?” asked Strongarm. “Be specific.”

“Why are you not happy?” sighed Barricade, a little miffed that he had to play this with Strongarm when he had perps to nail.

“Your methods make me unhappy,” remarked Strongarm.

“Have you gotten complaints?” asked Barricade.

“A few complaints,” explained Strongarm, “I can handle. What I can’t handle are frequent complaints on police brutality caused by you, according to eyewitnesses! We can’t have the people scared of stepping out onto the streets when police are on patrol!”

“Did I do something illegal?” grumbled Barricade.

“No,” said Strongarm in a low growl.

“Are you saying we shouldn’t get criminals off the street?” asked Barricade, his voice going up a tad.

“Common sense and the law require that I answer no,” hissed Strongarm, showing her irritation.

“We’re supposed to be slamming criminals in prison!” snarled Barricade.

“We’re supposed to be protecting the public and serving its greater good!” shouted Strongarm. “Starting with assuring people that law enforcement is on its side! We can’t scare people into falling in line!” Strongarm then ran her hands down her face. “Barricade, a police station and its crew…”

“Are like a machine?” finished Barricade.

“I was going to say clock, but yeah,” remarked Strongarm. “It only functions properly when all the parts mesh together. To do that, all parts must be properly maintained and kept clean. No rust, no corrosion at all, just smooth sailing.” She was about to continue, but Barricade’s attention had been drawn away outside. “Barricade, look at me when I’m talking to you! Didn’t your mother teach you how to pay attention?!”

“Someone’s getting mugged right outside the station!” reported Barricade.

“That will be dealt with!” snarled Strongarm.

“With the rookies you have here? No way,” dismissed Barricade.

“You’re not authorized to arrest the perp!” shouted Strongarm.

“Someone with experience has to stop him!” roared Barricade as he moved for the door.

“Stay where you are or you’re fired!” threatened Strongarm. Barricade stopped. “Move away from the door,” ordered Strongarm. Barricade stepped back. “Get over here now,” snarled Strongarm as she tapped her foot. Barricade was not pleased at losing a perp. The air was still and the room was quiet, but Strongarm wasn’t intimidated. He finally stopped in front of her. The mugger was taken in by the new guys. “I’m not happy with your methods,” said Strongarm quietly, “not happy at all. You pull anymore police brutality on anyone; you will be forced to turn in your badge and gun. Clear?” She motioned for Barricade to whisper his response in her audio receptors.

“Crystal clear,” Barricade hissed.

“Dismissed,” directed Strongarm. Barricade left and Strongarm sat back down at her desk. She ran her hands down her face and sighed. Her door chimed again. “Enter,” she groaned. A femme with an alt mode and a build like Prowl’s came in. She was born as Silverstreak, but recently changed her name to Bluestreak. She had a cylinder of Energolisis on her hand.

“Thought you might need this,” offered Bluestreak.

“Thank you, but I’m not tired,” sighed Strongarm.

“You’re lying,” observed Bluestreak, “but I appreciate the sentiment. It’s my shift now, go ahead and talk to Sideswipe.” Strongarm nodded, took the Energolisis and walked out of the office. Bluestreak was in charge as the nighttime police chief. Strongarm finished her Energolisis once she reached the door. She put the cylinder into the waste disposal near the door. Once outside, she transformed and put her holo-form on. Her holo-form was a heavyset pale woman with brown hair in a bun and police clothes. She sped off on the Cybertronian streets and then commed Sideswipe.

“Hey!” called a surfer-dude voice. “this is Sideswipe, here for any last minute homicide cases!”

“Maccadam's Old Oil House, five breems,” directed Strongarm.

“Er, all right boss,” replied Sideswipe. The call ended as she made her way to the greatest diner on Cybertron, Maccadam’s Old Oil house. The greeter let her in and a waitress named Lickety-Split led her in. She had wheels for feet and a helmet design that made her almost like Sailor Moon, she just didn’t have the long pigtails. She led Strongarm to a table that had a red mech that transformed into a 2014 Lamborghini Aventador. His helmet had something on the front so whenever he drives his head into another bot’s, he’d leave a big dent. His vehicle mode’s front connected to his waist where the license plate would be. The roof and windows had turned 180° from the front and had become the robot’s back. The rear had split in half, folded down so the rear bumper became the robot’s knee pads. The feet came from the old split. “Hey, boss bot!” called Sideswipe. “What’s the word?”

“Not until after we order,” remarked Strongarm. She turned to Lickety-Split. “Just a straight cube of Energon.”

“I’ll have a cube spiked with motor oil,” ordered Sideswipe.

“Coming up, cous!” confirmed Lickety-Split. She zoomed off and left the two alone.

“Now will you tell me what’s going on?” hissed Sideswipe. “This secretive wigging out isn’t like you.”

“The offices back at the station have been bugged,” replied Strongarm in a whisper.

“What?” yelped Sideswipe in the same whisper. “We do the bugging! We’re the police!”

“My office, too!” continued Strongarm.

“So, the question is, who shall bug these self-same buggers?” joked Sideswipe.

“There’s something else,” muttered Strongarm.

“Something more bugging you?” asked Sideswipe.

“Will you be serious for a cycle?!” hissed Strongarm. She then inhaled. “Look, I have to take you off the Tarkana case. I wasn’t supposed to tell you and Sunstreaker until tomorrow, but what will the higher ups do, take away my retirement fund when it’s worth 10 chips on the cube?” Sideswipe then realized the whole situation. He may act like an idiot, but that was a spectacle to hide his investigative abilities. Only a select few knew about it, his twin brother being chief among them. There was something or someone that didn’t want him poking around in the business with Optimus’ secretary, so they thought that removing him and Sunstreaker from the case would get them to stop. Strongarm never said anything about investigating on the sly, and she was counting on him to notice that.

“Okay, Strongarm,” he answered. “You want me and Sunstreaker back on the garage killing?”

“That would be perfect,” replied Strongarm. Lickety-Split came back with their orders and so they drank their Energon and traded war stories about how they brought the end of the Decepticon run Praxian internment camps. Strongarm had finished her story and Sideswipe was in the middle of his.

“So there I was,” he continued, “strapped to a dissection table with Knock-out about to cut me open and with Lugnut watching. Just as Knock-out was about to start, Lugnut told him to wait…”

“Just so he could monologue?” asked Strongarm.

“Just so he could monologue!” said Sideswipe. “And you know what he will say at a moment’s notice. ‘The Decepticons shall crush you unworthy Autobots! The glorious Decepticons shall wipe out your tyranny! The universe shall praise our hallowed name!’” He was about to continue when their comms units chimed in.

“All units, this is Bluestreak,” said the caller. “We’ve got trouble near the station. Barricade got into an argument with Sunstreaker and now they’re fighting it out. I don’t think Barricade’s holding it back. He’s about to kill Sunstreaker!”

“On our way!” replied Strongarm and Sideswipe. They paid for their Energon, transformed once they got out of the diner, and sped towards the police station. Time was of the essence, and they used every ounce of speed they had. Once they arrived, they saw Barricade over a battered Sunstreaker. He was built like Sideswipe, only yellow and had Thor like helmet wings. On top of that, he had missile launchers on his shoulders. Barricade was about to punch through Sunstreaker’s spark chamber before he decided to speak.

“I had that guy in the bag,” he growled, “until you tackled me and let him get away! You kept going on about how punishing criminals as they’re being arrested is wrong! And yet that coddling has allowed them to escape again and again and again and again and nothing changes! And so, for interfering, you shall pay with your spark!”

“And,” shouted Strongarm as she and Sideswipe raised their guns, “on top of being fired, Barricade, you’re under arrest for excessive force and attempted mech slaughter. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, the court shall provide one to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?”

“Are you fragging serious?!” roared Barricade as he carelessly tossed Sunstreaker aside. “We’re supposed to punish and enslave any and all criminals! Society will never change unless we take control!”

“That’s not what an Autobot would say,” snarled Strongarm. “Now, are you going to come quietly, or do I have to risk going too far?” Barricade said nothing, he just charged at Strongarm and got into a grappling match with her. A poor move, there’s a reason she’s called Strongarm. She managed to get out of Barricade’s hold and get him onto the ground. “You really should have taken the easy way,” she snarled. A couple of police bots came to the scene. “Take him in,” ordered Strongarm as she slapped stasis cuffs onto Barricade’s wrists.

“The Autobot way is wrong!” shouted Barricade as he was led away. “All it does is coddle other bots!”

“Tell that to the judge,” remarked Strongarm.


	9. Chapter 9

Back on Mobius, Alexis Silverwing was at Autobot HQ. She was pinching the bridge of her nose after Optimus had introduced her to Prowl. “Okay,” she sighed, “you wanna walk me through the thought process here?”

“It wasn’t my decision,” replied Optimus. “The Council decided to send him here. At least we can prepare for a Decepticon threat.”

“It’s that coming threat that concerns me!” snapped Alexis. “Prime, when N.E.S.T. was formed, you assured me that we could handle any threat. Old enemies of the Autobots coming from Cybertronian prison is a little out of our league!”

“Don’t worry,” assured Optimus, “we got this.”

“Forgive me if I’m skeptic,” remarked Alexis.

“You saying that we can’t handle a few measly Cons?” asked Ironhide. He then tore a hanging piece of machinery off the ceiling. “Autobots know when to use force and how much force to use.” He crushed the machine, which prompted Ratchet to say “Ironhide, I needed that!”

“Enough,” called Optimus. “Ma’am, we will end this threat once it arrives.”

“Says you,” hissed Alexis. “I have to report back to Commander Tower. Your ship leaves cause for concern.”

“Understandable,” replied Optimus. Alexis then left for her car and drove off.

“In all probability,” muttered Prowl, “it could have gone worse.”

“Could have gone worse?!” protested Bumblebee. “Prowl, coming here just jeopardized our mission here! If we weren’t hounded by both Shockwave and Eggman…!”

“Bumblebee, that’s enough,” snapped Optimus. “Besides, I think Prowl can help us. The more bots we have here, the more likely we’ll find Shockwave and bring her to justice.”

“Ironhide told me about your first battle with her,” remarked Prowl. “Did you actually bring her to a standstill?”

“Er, well no,” answered Optimus.

“Optimus, Shockwave is a powerful Decepticon,” replied Prowl. “She will not go down easily. Nothing seems to stop her as she’s always one step ahead of her opponents.”

“Wow, way to kill the optimism,” muttered Cliffjumper.

“I’m being realistic,” said Prowl. “I’ve seen her power first hand when I was in the Praxian internment camp run by her. Whatever Autobots went out of line served as either raw materials or guinea pigs.”

“Well, she doesn’t have a spaceship,” countered Optimus. “We’ll just beat her with it and throw her in its brig until we get to Cybertron. Oh, that reminds me, I still need to name the thing.” Optimus thought over it. “Eh, I’ll let you guys and G.U.N. figure it out amongst yourselves.”

“I’ve already taken control as ship-board A.I.,” reported Teletraan, “and I have finally found her!”

“You did?!” cheered Optimus. “Where is she?!”

“She’s moving towards a relic that was uncovered by Eggman’s forces,” answered Teletraan. “She’s an hour behind, so we have enough time to get rid of Eggman’s robots. On top of that, Prowl should be able to find a new vehicle mode.”

“Already have one,” replied Prowl, “just need to integrate it with my t-cog.”

“Try it out now,” suggested Optimus.

“PROWL, TRANSFORM!” announced Prowl. His arms went under the chest unit as the hover generators moved to the side. His lower torso twisted and folded to become the rear of the car and the door wings shut onto the sides of the car. Prowl’s holo-form was a Mobian German Shepard in police gear.

“That DOES look promising,” praised Optimus. “You chose a good form, Prowl.”

“He’s not going alone, is he?” asked Ironhide.

“No,” replied Optimus. “Ironhide, you’re with us as well.”

“What about us?” asked Jazz.

“You might need a medic,” suggested Ratchet.

“Unless Egghead has any of his Transformers,” answered Optimus, “I don’t want to leave the base totally unguarded.”

“He doesn’t,” reported Teletraan, “so you, Prowl, and Ironhide should be enough.”

“Then let’s roll out!” rallied Optimus. He and Ironhide transformed and all three Autobots sped into the Ground Bridge. They arrived at the coordinates and caught the attention of Eggman’s forces. The Autobots quickly transformed and cut through the robots. It took all of three minutes.

“Sheesh,” muttered Ironhide, “they used to be tougher than this!”

“I’m guessing you’ve had very little in the way of problems with Eggman,” guessed Prowl.

“Dude, the last robot he threw at us turned into a giant egg beater,” confirmed Optimus. “Bumblebee had to throw a rock into the mechanisms that turned the beaters to destroy it.”

“That’s…rather sad,” remarked Prowl.

“I know, right?” asked Optimus. “In any case, let’s see what we’ve got here.” Optimus put his hand on the top and noticed a jiggle. “Aw, man!” he wailed. “I’ll never show off my skills to Prowl now!”

“What skills?” inquired Prowl.

“His coding skills,” explained Ironhide.

“He can code?” asked Prowl.

“I was a data clerk before I became Prime,” elaborated Optimus. “In fact, I was the best.”

“On the one servo,” mused Prowl, “it would be nice to see your skills in action. On the other, we don’t need to waste energy and precious time opening the thing.”

“Fair enough,” conceded Optimus. He then took the lid off. “All right,” he said as he peered inside, “let’s see what’s…SCRAP!” He slammed the lid back on and pointed his gun at the relic.

“Problem?” asked Ironhide.

“It’s a cache of Energon,” gulped Optimus.

“That’s a good thing, right?” quizzed Prowl.

“Not this stuff,” replied Optimus. “Ironhide, call HQ and tell them we have a Tox-En problem. Ask Ratchet if we have a containment unit for the stuff.” The two mechs’ optics went wide.

“Ratchet, we have a cache of Tox-En here,” called Ironhide over the radio. “Is there a containment unit for it?”

“I’m afraid not,” answered Ratchet. “Even if we did have one, it would still depend on the mass and density of the crystal.”

“Slag!” swore Ironhide.

“Then let’s leave it here,” suggested Optimus. “If we don’t want it, then neither will Shockwave.”

“Optimus, who do you think made the stuff?” asked Prowl.

“Remember when I told you about how the entire 1st division of Wreckers was wiped out by a disease?” reminded Ironhide. “That’s the very source of the disease. No way am I going to let Shockwave have it!”

“Then we have to destroy it,” declared Optimus. “But how? From what I’ve heard, Tox-En must be destroyed completely and blasting it won’t cut it. From what I’ve also heard, dizziness and nausea occur on contact and prolonged exposure weakens a bot to the point of paralysis and then snuffs the spark.”

“There’s a volcano 20 kliks from your position,” reported Teletraan. “Throw it in there, container and all.”

“Are you sure it’ll melt in the lava?” asked Optimus.

“Positive,” assured Teletraan.

“Then let’s get rid of this thing,” affirmed Optimus.

“Bots,” called Ironhide, “Shockwave inbound!” Shockwave was rapidly approaching the three Autobots in vehicle mode with Metal Sonic on top.

“All right, bots,” warned Metal Sonic, “hand over the relic, and no one gets hurt.”

“You want it?” snarled Ironhide. He then transformed and opened his back door. Optimus put the relic container inside. “Come and get it!” continued Ironhide. All Autobots zoomed off and went opposite the volcano. Metal Sonic took to the air and Shockwave pursued on the ground.

“You know,” called Metal Sonic, “this can go a lot easier if you let us have the…toxin.”

“It’s Tox-En,” corrected Shockwave, “short for Toxic Energon. And Metal Sonic is right, I fail to see the logic in pursuit. Give us the Tox-En and we’ll let you go.”

“So you can use it on us?” asked Optimus. “No thank you!”

“We won’t, we promise!” shouted Metal Sonic.

“Liar!” called Prowl.

“I thought my visual apparatus was malfunctioning,” remarked Shockwave. “I could have sworn you died, Prowl.”

“Well, you’re clearly wrong!” snapped Prowl.

“Soon to be corrected,” declared Shockwave.

“If I don’t put you behind bars first!” shouted Prowl as he turned around and charged at Shockwave.

“Prowl! Stay in formation!” ordered Optimus. “We don’t have time for grudges!” Prowl didn’t listen. Shockwave was about to fire, but Prowl transformed and jumped onto her top. He then pulled her gun up to the sky and directed the shot to Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic saw the oncoming laser blast and dodged.

“Hey! Watch where you’re shooting!” he shouted. Shockwave didn’t dignify that with a response and started twirling her gun barrel to throw Prowl off. Prowl jumped off in the nick of time and Shockwave transformed. The duel began, but it was an even duel. Like Shockwave, Prowl is a logically minded bot. Pit him against another logically minded bot, and you have a stalemate. For every punch Shockwave pulled, Prowl was fast enough to counter it, even when she used Five Servos of Doom. For every kick Prowl made, Shockwave had already calculated how to block it in five different ways. If it weren’t for the fact that they both needed to recharge, they would have dueled like this forever. Optimus and Ironhide, however, still needed to get Metal Sonic off their skidplates before they could help Prowl.

“Ironhide, what do you suggest?” asked Optimus.

“We need aerial support,” replied Ironhide. “I can’t get up there because it would put the Tox-En too close to Metal Sonic’s claws.”

“You can’t, but I can,” planned Optimus. “I’ll keep Metal Sonic busy. Get to the volcano and dispose of the relic.”

“Yes, Sir!” confirmed Ironhide. Optimus switched to flight mode and took to the air. Metal Sonic tried to dive down, but Optimus got in the way. He kept pushing and nudging Metal Sonic upwards.

“A pity you can’t even catch me, much less Ironhide,” Optimus taunted. “What’s even more pitiful is that you can’t do this!” Optimus then dismissed his holo-form and converted to robot mode in mid-air. The vehicle mode hover generators were now flight jets.

“A pity that you didn’t upgrade yourself after our last encounter!” called Metal Sonic. He stuck his right arm out and used some invisible force to grab Optimus by the leg. All of a sudden, Optimus felt himself being slammed into the ground. “Ah, it’s amazing what one can find,” cheered Metal Sonic, “such as the Polarity Gauntlet! Shockwave examined it and upgraded my hands to have magnetic fields be generated so I can push objects away or lift them as if I had the strength of titans!” To prove the latter, Metal Sonic grabbed Optimus by the shoulder and flew straight up. “Tell me, Defectimus Prime, how did you manage to believe that defending these meat sacks would amount to anything?!”

“I don’t know,” countered Optimus, “how did you manage to fix the icing problem with the resources of this planet?”

“...Icing problem?” asked Metal Sonic. It was then that he realized he went too high and ice had formed all over him, interfering with the proper functioning of his new Polarity Hands. They shut off and he briefly drifted from Optimus.

“Might want to look into it,” suggested Optimus as he grabbed Metal Sonic and tossed him towards terra firma. As Metal Sonic fell, Optimus paused in the air for a few seconds until gravity remembered how to work on objects. As Optimus fell, he tried to engage his flight jets. “Flight mode, activate! Jets, online! Flying things, turn on!” Nothing was working. “Come on! Come on! Come on! Prime jets, on!” That was the phrase and the flight jets were on! “Yes!” cheered Optimus as he flew to where Metal Sonic was falling, caught him, and threw him straight at Shockwave. She didn’t see the oncoming object and was soon given a hit straight to the processor.

“Optimus, what are you doing?!” protested Prowl.

“Screwing things over for Shockwave!” said Optimus. He then punched Shockwave in the chest and got Prowl to transform and follow him.

“What’s your plan of attack?” asked Prowl.

“Er…” stammered Optimus.

“YOU DON’T HAVE A PLAN?!” said Prowl.

“I’m making this up as I…,” Optimus trailed off as he saw a building with some explosive rockets near a G.U.N. base, “…go. Prowl, go get a mobile missile launcher platform from the base over there. I have an idea. No leaving the mission behind to satisfy a grudge, understand?”

“Yes, Sir!” obliged Prowl as he moved toward the base. Optimus, in the meantime, kept up the attack as best he could what with Shockwave having the Polarity gauntlet on her person. Shockwave kept picking rocks out of the ground with said gauntlet by using the more ferrous minerals as a means to do so. Metal Sonic wasn’t making things any easier. He had put concealed blasters into the back of his hands and had started using them. Optimus danced around the blasts, but it was putting a drain on his internal Energon reserves.

“Come on, Ironhide!” muttered Optimus aloud. “Where are you?!”

“Right here, Prime!” called Ironhide’s voice.

“Wait, you’re back?!” yelped Metal Sonic. “Then where’s…?

“The Autobots have successfully distracted us from obtaining the Tox-En,” guessed Shockwave. “We failed. As compensation, I shall liberate you from your existence, Autobots.” She then pulled out a small device from her subspace pocket. She flicked it into the air like a coin and then shot an energy blast from her right palm. “CYBER KEY POWER!” she shouted. She then activated her gun arm as the device inserted itself into her weapon’s power pack and turned like a key. Her gun barrel casing then split into two panels and let the inner barrel extend.

“What the?!” yelped Optimus. “A Scrapmaker Rifle?!”

“Where’d that come from?!” cried Ironhide. Shockwave then fired on the two.

“Prowl, where are you?!” shouted Optimus over the comms.

“We have her in our sights,” called Prowl over the comms. “I see she’s using her Cyber Key.”

“Cyber Key?” gulped Ironhide. “That’s just a myth!”

“You saw her invoke it with your own optics, why call it a myth?” asked Prowl. “In any case, I have the missile launcher unit. We’re ready to fire at your command.”

“Do it!” declared Optimus. Prowl nodded to the commander of the unit and the missiles were launched directly at Shockwave. The explosion of missiles hitting their target was deafening. All they could see was the light from the aftermath. “Did we get her?!” asked Optimus excitedly.

“Prime,” sighed Prowl, “Teletraan is still sending us her spark signature. Why do you even ask?”

“I’m an optimist,” replied Optimus.

“You’re an idiot!” insulted Ironhide.

“Both of you are wrong,” answered Shockwave as the dust cleared, “you’re dead.” A red aura had surrounded Shockwave to protect her from the missile fire. She then jumped to where Prowl was and tossed him into the others. She then proceeded to fire on them and damage them.

“Optimus, we have to get out of here!” coughed Ironhide.

“And let Shockwave terrorize G.U.N?” protested Optimus. “Not fragging likely!”

“Optimus, I’ve run through all possible scenarios in my battle computer,” reported Prowl. “We’ve destroyed the Tox-En. Let’s get out of here!”

“Not gonna happen,” snarled Optimus. “Until Shockwave is brought down, I’m not backing down!”

“One glaring flaw in your logic,” remarked Shockwave, “you’re outmatched.”

“Warning,” reported Optimus’ internal computer. “Power reserves, ninety-six percent depleted. Stasis lock, commencing.”

“Override!” ordered Optimus.

“Repeat, power loss critical,” droned his internal computer. “Further expenditures will result in loss of Spark. Stasis lock must commence.”

“OVERRIDE!” shouted Optimus.

“Acknowledged,” replied the computer.

“Many an Autobot have disregarded the warnings of their internal computers,” mused Shockwave. “All have fallen by my hand as they believe the universe has given them ‘Burning Justice’ to get through the fight.”

“We’ll see what can get me through this fight!” snarled Optimus as he got into a defensive stance. Inside Shockwave’s head, she had projected a 3-D holographic image of the finishing blows.

“First, fire at target’s torso slightly to the left. Target will twist and turn 360° to attempt wild right hook. Initiate Five Servos of Doom to first block with left arm, then jab at wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints in that order, then left uppercut to face. Target will be at critical power loss and land flat on its back. Fire at Spark Chamber. Primary Results: Autobots are thrown into chaos without their Prime, forces will haphazardly retreat, and will one day leave their base open to attack on account of morale being destroyed. Secondary results: Experiments on the Matrix are opened. Initiate plan.” Shockwave quickly fired on Optimus who twisted out of the way and moved to throw a wild right hook, which Shockwave blocked. A nano-second after that, she jabbed at his arm joints and finished with a left handed uppercut to his face, knocking him flat on his back. At that point, Shockwave planted a foot on his chest.

“Final Warning: Power failing,” droned Optimus’ computer, “Jeopardy extreme. Repeat: Extreme.”

“You are at a disadvantage,” declared Shockwave. “I have a means to increase my power. I have years of combat and scientific experience ‘under my belt’, as the humans would put it. You are exhausted. Damaged beyond recovery. Defeated. What can you possibly do?” Optimus looked around hopelessly, then saw an object glint. His optics zoomed in and saw the object. He grinned.

“What can I do?” he chuckled. “Something you’ve never truly done, improvise!” Optimus then bit down on her foot. Shockwave howled in pain and started hopping around, clutching her foot. As the Auto-imp laughed, she then kicked him in the mouth. It was so hard, he landed nearer to the object. “So worth losing a few dental plates!” he said. The object then beamed information into his head. He got up again after the data transfer was complete. “Hey! Shockwave! Just tell me if I’m doing it wrong!” Shockwave’s eye flickered for a moment, her indication of blinking. He then flicked the object into the air and gathered energy into his right palm. “CYBER KEY POWER!” he shouted. His gun then floated into the air in front of him as he deployed his axe. Once the key inserted itself into the back of the gun and twisted, the gun’s handle moved to the back as a handle on top sprouted and the barrel split and extended. The axe handles combined as it inserted itself into the barrel. “Sweet! Spark Drinker Axe!” cheered Optimus.

“Power levels now at acceptable margins,” reported his internal computer. “Stasis lock warning cancelled.”

“Now, Shockwave,” called Optimus, “I hope you don’t think I’m being a tad excessive!”

“Cyber Key power now depleted,” answered Shockwave’s computer.

“No!” shouted Shockwave as her gun arm returned to its normal configuration and the aura disappeared.

“That’s fine!” replied Optimus as if she just answered his question. “After all, as a Prime, I must be fair!” He then raised his axe. “This is gonna hurt me a lot more than it does you!”

“I sincerely doubt that!” hissed Shockwave. “Sigma, divert all available power to primary weapon!”

“Compliance,” obliged Sigma. As available weapons power built up, Optimus charged at Shockwave at top speed. She fired. A single bolt of red light flew towards Optimus with the intent to do damage, but it failed. It bounced off of Optimus and he struck Shockwave. She fell and landed hard. The impact caused a significant power drain that she went into stasis lock. Metal Sonic saw this and used his Polarity hands to lift Shockwave and then summoned a Ground Bridge back to base. Once they went through, the portal closed.

“Whooo!” cheered Optimus wearily as he waved his axe above him. The energy then faded and his new Cyber Key turned into its old position to let the axe turn back into his gun and combiner axe. Optimus then fell flat on his back and allowed himself to go into stasis lock.


	10. Chapter 10

Blackness was all Optimus could see at that point in time. He shook his head to clear the processor. “Oogh, my achin’ processor!” he moaned. It was still black around him. “What the scrap? The Matrix?”

“That’s correct,” confirmed a motherly voice. Optimus turned to see a short, stocky femme stroll towards him. Her armor made her look like a blacksmith, she had a short handled hammer attached to her waist, and she had a three pronged crown on her helm. Optimus’ optics went wide.

“By the Allspark!” he breathed. “You’re Solus Prime!”

“What gave me away?” she said in a teasing tone.

“My Lady,” greeted Optimus, “it’s an honor to meet one of the 13. Maybe you can help.”

“What’s the problem?” she asked. “You defeated Shockwave, did you not?”

“Yes,” confirmed Optimus, “but I seem to find it hard to believe that the Cyber Key was just waiting for me.”

“Cyber Key?” muttered Solus. “You found a Cyber Key?”

“Yes,” replied Optimus.

“But, that’s impossible,” mused Solus. “I ordered all Cyber Keys to stay away from the planet.”

“I…don’t think I understand,” stammered Optimus.

“When I forged the Omega Keys,” explained Solus, “they started producing Cyber Keys, like the ones you and Shockwave used. Alpha Trion saw a planet in the future and…”

“Wait, hold up, when was this?” asked Optimus.

“A few solar cycles after we beat the Chaos Bringer,” replied Solus.

“Alpha Trion is that old?!” yelped Optimus. “Sheesh! Ironhide would be floored! I knew he had a special connection with the Matrix, but I…wait…no!”

“Yes, Alpha Trion is one of us 13,” answered Solus. “He didn’t tell you this?”

“No!” replied Optimus. “Why…? Never mind, I’ll ask him later. Anyways, his Quill saw something about Mobius?”

“Yes,” confirmed Solus, “he saw a hotbed of activity there and so, once the Cyber Keys were finished, I did something to their codes so they could avoid Mobius at all times. Something must have interfered and sent one there.”

“Maybe more,” muttered Optimus. “Can a Prime check to see if there are other Cyber Keys?”

“Not one of your caliber, no,” answered Solus. “But one of my caliber, most definitely.” She held her hammer in front of her and gathered light around her. Her optics started glowing a brilliant white as her sight pierced the cosmic veil of the universe to reveal what she sought. A frown of confusion crossed her features. “That doesn’t make sense,” she muttered as her optics went back to their normal soft, purple color. “Mobius is littered with Cyber Keys.” Optimus arched an eyebrow and tapped his chin.

“There’s something here in this whole situation,” he mused, “something staring at us in the face, but we don’t have enough info to know what it is.”

“There’s a cosmic mystery going on,” agreed Solus, “and bringing the Cyber Keys on Mobius to my attention may be a step in solving it.”

“But what caused them to go there? That’s the question,” quizzed Optimus. “I originally wanted to ask how I managed to use one and how they work, but it evolved into something more.”

“Well, I can answer your original questions, at least,” replied Solus. “The Cyber Keys usually wait until they see a worthy bot to have the power they possess. In the code, they’re told to examine the Sparks of all Transformers in the area and see which one has the qualities needed to use it. Evidently, it sensed that you had a burning sense of justice and will use it to win. You do what you believe is right, even when the rules say that’s not right.”

“Burning sense of…” stumbled Optimus. Then he remembered what Shockwave said. “Many an Autobot have disregarded the warnings of their internal computers. All have fallen by my hand as they believe the universe has given them ‘Burning Justice’ to get through the fight,” were her words. “I thought she was kidding!” protested Optimus.

“She may have thought it to be one of her rare jokes,” chuckled Solus.

“She has a sense of humor?” asked Optimus, not believing it for a second.

“Despite that façade of logic being supreme,” replied Solus, “she has an emotional side to her.”

“Of…course,” mumbled Optimus. He then felt a twinge.

“Er, you might want to prepare for the processor-ache,” warned Solus.

“What processor…?” asked Optimus before he woke up in reality. “ACHE!” he screamed once he felt it.

“Optimus!” cried Ratchet.

“PRIMUS, THAT HURTS!” shouted Optimus. Ratchet gave him a dose of painkillers, which dulled it slightly. “Ow!” winced Optimus.

“Are you all right, Sir?” asked a voice. Optimus turned his head to see that it was Prowl that asked that question.

“I just went through the Pit and back from that fight with Shockwave!” snapped Optimus. “What do you think?!”

“Okay, if all Autobots would clear the med-bay!” ordered Ratchet. “I have a patient to tend to!” All visitors left the med-bay so Ratchet could work without interruptions. It took some time, but Ratchet cleared Optimus for duty. Optimus made a beeline to his office. On his way, he bumped into Prowl.

“Prowl, may I speak with you in my office?” he asked.

“Er, of course, Sir,” gulped Prowl. The tactician followed his young superior to his modest sized office. He noticed that Optimus didn’t sit at his desk.

“Prowl, I’m not entirely thrilled with your performance in the fight with Shockwave,” remarked Optimus.

“May I ask how, Sir?” asked Prowl.

“I gave you an order to stay in formation when she and Metal Sonic gave chase,” recalled Optimus.

“Sir, with all due respect, Shockwave was a greater threat than the Sonic robot,” countered Prowl.

“You don’t know Metal Sonic like us,” argued Optimus. “You exposed Ironhide’s right flank, thus giving Metal Sonic more chance to attack him and get the Tox-En. When I give an order, I need it to be obeyed.”

“Is it not my duty to suggest…alternatives?” asked Prowl.

“On a private comms channel during battle, yes,” answered Optimus. “What you did wasn’t a suggestion, it was flat out disobedience. When I have made a decision, I expect you to follow through with it. I don’t recall the history trax saying you’ve ever pulled this stunt with Sentinel Prime. Were they missing that fact?”

“No, Sir,” admitted Prowl.

“If you feel that you can’t follow through with your duties,” continued Optimus, “I can arrange for your wife to take your place while you deal with domestic matters. I wouldn’t put in your file as a reprimand, simply a transfer.”

“I would prefer to remain here to tie up loose ends,” countered Prowl.

“Then I would suggest you conform to the guidelines laid out, understood?” quizzed Optimus.

“Yes, Sir,” confirmed Prowl.

“All right. I’ve said my peace. Dismissed,” directed Optimus. Prowl saluted and left the office in military fashion. After his tactician left, Optimus sat at his desk a few seconds later. He didn’t look forward to reading Prowl the Riot Act, as calmly as he managed, and it left a bad taste in his mouth. He tried to get his mind off of the incident when his desk screen chimed. Optimus was snapped out of his reverie and pressed a button to receive the call. “Yes?” he asked.

“The Naming Ceremony for the ship is ready,” reported Jazz. “Team Dark is representing G.U.N. and Teams Sonic and Rose are requesting to join.” Optimus’ signature grin came back.

“They are more than welcome!” he cheered. “Let’s head for the ship!” Teletraan 1 activated the Ground Bridge and adjusted to compensate for putting the other end to a structure in orbit.

* * *

Everyone had ended up on the bridge of the ship. Optimus had found a bottle of high grade Energon. “My friends,” began Optimus, “today, we stand with a new friend. This ship is no mere collection of bulkheads, circuits, windows, and consoles. This ship is our home away from home…away from home, in reference to the Autobots. With all that said, I dub this ship the _Ark_!

“Wait!” called Rouge. “I thought we settled on the _Watchful_!” The bottle stopped about a foot from the wall.

“I settled on the _Ark_ because it sounded more majestic,” explained Optimus, “like the name for a fleet’s flagship. The situation with the _Harbinger_ will need a ship and I’m not against owning a fleet someday.”

“Yeah, but the reason people voted for _Watchful_ ,” recalled Ratchet, “was because they didn’t want to call it a name like the space colony.”

“Yes,” snapped Optimus, “but, it’s not their ship now, is it?!”

“Prime,” warned Ironhide.

“Okay, fine!” sighed Optimus. “All _Vanguard_ -class ships have four scout ships. We’ll call one of them the _Watchful_! Okay?”

“No objections,” answered Prowl quickly. He didn’t want to annoy his superior again.

“Thank you,” remarked Optimus. “Now then, I dub thee the _Ark_!” He banged the high grade bottle on the wall, but it failed to even give a tiny crack. Optimus looked at the bottle and banged it again. Still nothing. Annoyance set in and Optimus kept banging the bottle against the wall.

“This is gonna take a while,” predicted Jazz.

“You want to get some high grade?” asked Prowl to the group. “I know where the bar is and there is a replicator that can give Mobian drinks.”

“Hey, lead the way!” directed Rouge. All members of the ceremony headed to the bar at four-forward, all except Optimus, who kept his attention on breaking the bottle against the wall.

“BREAK, SLAG YOU!” he shouted.


End file.
